FORWARDER Move it Like... Caroline Barber, Transaid

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T

he international development organisation is celebrating its 20th Birthday later this year as an independent charity and shares transport expertise

with partners and governments in Africa to empower people to build the skills they need to transform their own lives.

CAROLINE BARBER

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF TRANSAID

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YEAR FOUNDED

1998

INCOME

£1,620,539 EMPLOYEES

14 employees, 5 consultants, 31 ambassadors and thousands of volunteer health care and emergency transport providers across Africa SPECIALISM

Road safety (particularly professional driver training) and access to health care services REGIONS OF OPERATION

Zambia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Madagascar, Uganda, Ghana, Kenya and the UK MILESTONES

1998 Founded as a charity 1998-2003 Flagship transport management programmes in Ghana and South Africa 2008 Launched professional driver training programme in Zambia 2011 Started a new programme in Madagascar working on emergency transport and community health worker mobility 2013 Secured a major new grant from Comic Relief to scale up MAMaZ 2017 Transaid’s biggest fundraising event to date took place, with Cycle South Africa raising £227,000

CAROLINE BARBER,

2017 Expanded work in Zambia to tackle severe malaria in children

TRANSAID

CAROLINE SAYS...

We work to transform lives in Africa by reducing death and injury on the roads...

Together with our partners, in the last five years alone we have...

Transferred 22,838 women and children under five using emergency transport schemes Trained 151 driver trainers, who have in turn trained 28,980 drivers Set up a knowledge centre with over 90 case studies and 120 tools

T

he international development organisation is celebrating its 20th Birthday later this year as an independent charity and shares transport expertise with partners and governments in Africa to empower people to build the skills they need to transform their own lives. We were lucky enough to speak to Caroline Barber, Chief Executive,

who let us know more about the work in which Transaid is currently carrying out, and their plans for the future...

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Q A

Can you tell us more about exactly what it is Transaid does and how it was set up?

We work to transform lives in Africa by reducing death and injury on the roads and ensuring that people have access to essential health care services when they most need it. Transaid is the brainchild of The Princess Royal, who saw that the skills of

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CAROLINE SAYS...

Transaid and our partners are helping to improve lives on a daily basis.

Q A

Our professional driver training work sees Transaid and our partners train trainers and thousands of drivers every year.

This is reducing death and injury on the roads as well as professionalising the industry and helping create employment.

We also have 35 corporate partners who help us in so many ways. These include Yusen Logistics, Ligentia, XPO Logistics

the UK logistics sector could make a real difference for people

and DHL. One of these ways is through the secondment

in Africa. We were originally an organisation that focused on

of professional volunteers. This is helping people share

emergency relief and we have transitioned over the years.

experience and knowledge and helping strengthen the

Today we work with local partners and governments to help

industry across the globe. XPO Logistics, for example, offer

people take charge of their own health and livelihoods in an

their graduates the opportunity to be seconded to one of

effective and sustainable way.

our road safety projects for six months, during which they directly contribute to our work; other companies send their employees for shorter periods of time to carry out specific training courses. These may be in the carriage of dangerous

In recent years, how has Transaid reached out and helped develop both people and the industry?

goods, in tyre safety or defensive driver training, depending on the needs of our partners.

Transaid and our partners are helping to improve lives on a daily basis. For example, every day approximately 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy

How does Transaid set itself apart from any competitors in the industry?

and childbirth, according to the World Health Organisation.

The staggering fact is that 99% of all maternal deaths occur

Transaid is quite niche in what we do. Unlike some

in economically developing countries. This is why we work

international development organisations we work very

where we do and ensure that pregnant women have transport

closely with the private sector and help to share best practice.

to health facilities when they need it most. In Northern

For example in our professional driver training work we have

Nigeria, for example, our Emergency Transport Scheme has

a consortium formed of senior representatives from the UK

now transferred over 14,000 pregnant women since 2013.

that helps to guide the strategic direction of our work.

What experience do you have personally within the logistics industry?

Can you tell us more about your ‘Knowledge Centre’ and the benefits you have seen?

I started my career in the logistics industry, joining Wincanton as a gr aduate tr ainee back in 20 03.

Transaid has an online Knowledge Centre where

I worked as Solution Design Manager and then moved into

we host all our material, for example tools, case

implementations and project management, especially of

studies and reports. We hope that by making

new start-up operations or transfer of third-party logistics

information freely available we can help reach more

providers. I worked in the UK, France and Ireland with

people. Our Knowledge Centre receives over 100

Wincanton before getting involved with Transaid.

downloads a month and we are passionate about sharing what we know about transport and logistics with partners in Africa.

Q A

How have you seen your industry grow within the last 5 years?

The international development sector has faced a number of challenges in the last few years. Funding from UK and US governments, for example, has become more unpredictable and Brexit casts other uncertainties. However, over the last five years Transaidhascontinuedtogrowinthescaleandtheimpactofourwork.

We are now working in more countries and with more partners than ever before.

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What core values are lived through Transaid daily?

Partnership, integrity, expertise and innovation

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Have you seen any economic or political changes that could affect your business in more recent times?

Political changes regularly affect out work and it is something we have to be very mindful of. From changes in government priorities at home and abroad to instability around elections for example, they can all have an impact.

Many of the countries we work in have fragile economies and changes in the price of copper or a poor rainy reason can have extraordinary consequences.

Is there a way for people to get involved with your development of people around the world?

Absolutely! There are all sorts of ways to support.

We have a corporate membership scheme, we send

CAROLINE SAYS...

We have achieved a lot with our partners and supporters to date...

Q A

Q A

Where do you get the expertise to help people transform their own lives?

From a number of places! We have a hardworking and skilled team at Transaid and I am proud of every member of it.

We also work with very capable local partners such as nongovernmental organisations in Africa, with government training centres, with talented individuals and of course with the private sector. One of the really nice things about Transaid is that we facilitate the sharing of expertise and knowledge. A UK-based trainer might travel to Tanzania to deliver HGV training to a group of local trainers. In turn our professional volunteers have a unique and rewarding experience and invariably they find they have had a learned a great deal themselves.

How have you shaped the way in which people in foreign countries get access to vital healthcare?

professional experts out to support our programmes overseas, we have an ambassador scheme and we run

We are working to reach the least supported and ensure

annual cycle and challenge events. In fact this week we are

nobody is left behind. In practical terms this means providing

launching LEJOG to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We are

women and children access to the health care they need

really excited about this challenge. Taking place in June 2019,

and often this involves addressing a gap in transport at the

people will have the option to cycle the full 12-day, 972-mile

first mile – from the rural household to the first-level health

route, one three-day section, multiple sections, or to submit

facility. We look at what transport is in place already and how

a relay team. Even before the official launch we have had lots

we can build on that to ensure it is available and affordable.

of companies committing to submitting a team of four for

In Nigeria we work with the transport union, who provide

the relay option, and we hope to raise ÂŁ200,000 from this

free-for-use transport in emergencies.

challenge in celebration of our 20th anniversary. To find out

women have benefited from this scheme in Adamawa State.

more please visit the Transaid website or contact Harry at

In Madagascar we also work to bring health services closer to

harry@transaid.org or 020 7387 8136.

the people. We train and equip community health volunteers

Over 14,000

and provide them with bicycles so they can reach many more families and provide advice and health commodities. We have worked with

What challenges have you overcome in your time at Transaid?

over 1,000 such health workers. In Zambia we have just started a really important programme which is helping to ensure a ground-

There are a number of challenges we face. If you take

breaking new malaria drug is available to children who contract

professional driver training then we work in countries where

severe malaria in Serenje district. We are working with a wonderful

there is often limited legislation, regulation or enforcement.

Swiss Foundation called Medicines for Malaria Venture. We work to

This means that when we raise standards through training there

ensure that communities know the danger signs, we make sure the

are still other barriers to running safe fleets. However, things

drug is in stock and we work with the community and district health-

are changing. We are always working in partnership with the

management teams to ensure trained people administer the drug and

government so that we can build practical skills and also work

that children have access to emergency transport. For severe malaria

towards policy change. A good example of this is in East Africa

quick identification and treatment is crucial for survival. Already

where we have worked in partnership with the East Africa

children’s lives are being saved and we are looking at how we can scale

Community member states to develop a harmonised training

up this work with our partners the Zambian Ministry of Health.

curriculum across the five member states.

Have you come across any issues regarding the transportation of pharmaceutical/perishable goods for health care developments?

In the next five years, what are Transaid's aims?

We have achieved a lot with our partners and supporters

Yes. This is a key challenge: on the pharma side it’s often very

to date but there is still much to do. We aim to reach more

challenging for governments to ensure that temperature-controlled

communities with our access to health work and ensure that

vaccines, for example, stay cool, especially the further down the

drivers who go out to work have the skills and knowledge to

supply chain they travel. Ensuring that stock is on the shelves in rural

keep them safe. We will expand our reach in these two core

health centres and hospitals is challenging…I’ve been to some that

areas in Africa. We are also working on better understanding the

only receive a delivery every three months and can be cut off for six

impact of our work and measurement of this, as well as ensuring

months or more in the rainy season.

our solutions are robust, sustainable and scalable.

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