International Footballer Didier Drogba As Ambassador of Ground-Breaking Programme

HONG KONG,CHINA - Media OutReach - 29 October 2019 - PrudenceFoundation, the community investment arm of Prudential in Asia and Africa, announcedtoday that it has teamed up with international footballer Didier Drogba, togetherwith the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), Didier DrogbaFoundation and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red CrescentSocieties (IFRC), to launch SAFE STEPS Road Safety Africa.

Globally, 1.35million people are killed on the roads every year, including 500 children everyday. Road-related crashes are the number one cause of death of 5 to 29-yearolds and continue to be a serious issue in both developing and developednations. Africa has the highest road fatality rate in the world and 44 percentof road traffic deaths are pedestrians and cyclists. In addition, althoughAfrica has only 2 percent of the world's cars, the continent accounts for 20percent of road deaths worldwide.[1]

SAFE STEPSRoad Safety Africa, an extension of the ground-breaking, pan-Asia SAFE STEPS RoadSafety programme, uses multiple platforms including on-air videos, aninformative website and print material that can be shared throughcommunity-based activities and partnerships to raise awareness of the world'sleading cause of death by providing clear and simple life-saving information.

Core to theprogramme is a series of 60-second public service announcement videos featuringSAFE STEPS Road Safety Africa Ambassador Didier Drogba who advises on keytopics on road safety, namely drink driving, distracted driving, seat belts,speed limits, motor cycles and pedestrians. All messages are approved by IFRCwhich will also be leveraging the programme across its African network.

Ivory Coast isthe first country in Africa to launch SAFE STEPS Road Safety Africa. Withsupport from the Government of Ivory Coast, the programme was officially launchedin Abidjan on 25 October by H.E. Amadou Koné, Minister of Transport, in the presence of DidierDrogba, Marc Fancy, Executive Director of Prudence Foundation, and Jean Todt,President of FIA and United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for RoadSafety.

Marc Fancy said,"Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential in Asia andAfrica, is committed to protecting the future of communities by enhancing theireducation, health and safety. Following the success of SAFE STEPS Road Safetyin Asia, we are delighted to be launching the new SAFE STEPS Road Safety Africacampaign in the Ivory Coast. We believe that with Didier leading thispan-Africa campaign, the messages on road safety will be able to reach millionsof Africans and contribute to making Africa's roads safer and help save lives."

Jean Todt said, "The road safety crisismust be quickly and effectively addressed, especially in Africa where themortality rates are higher than in the rest of the world. With awareness campaignssuch as SAFE STEPS Road Safety Africa, we want to make people conscious of thedangers they are exposed to when they don't respect simple safety rules on theroad."

Didier Drogba said, "Roadtraffic crashes are the leading cause of death in Ivory Coast. Children andpedestrians are the most vulnerable. We have an obligation to further protectour people by educating them and teaching them the best practices to savelives. The statistics are alarming! It seems obvious to me to get involved tosupport such a cause, so that we can change things as soon as possible!"

Dr SimonMissiri, IFRC Regional Director for Africa a.i., said, "We are increasinglyconcerned about the escalation of the road safety crisis. Road crashes not onlytake lives, they also take up much-needed health care resources in communitiesthat often suffer from other severe health issues. Urgent action is need inorder to reverse this trend. One of IFRC's priorities is to build a culture ofrisk reduction and prevention and this includes improving road safety to savelives and build safer communities."  

Notes to the Editor:

Relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to RoadSafety:

SDG3: Good Health and Well Being

• 3.2: By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to atleast as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least aslow as 25 per 1,000 live births.
• 3.6: By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from roadtraffic accidents.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• 11.2: By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible andsustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably byexpanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those invulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and olderpersons.

About SAFE STEPS

SAFE STEPS iscreated and developed by Prudence Foundation and is a partnership with theInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC),National Geographic and the FIA for the road safety programme. At its core,SAFE STEPS comprises of three programmes addressing Natural Disasters, RoadSafety and First Aid. Each programme consists of a series of public serviceannouncement videos, online and print materials that aim to raise awareness andprovide easy-to-understand educational information on each of theselife-threatening issues in the hope of saving lives and building more resilientcommunities. In Asia, the SAFE STEPS programmes reach more than 250 millionpeople every day via multi-sector partnerships and platforms.

SAFE STEPS RoadSafety Africa is Prudence Foundation's new campaign for the African continent.In partnership with the FIA, the IFRC and the Drogba Foundation and with DidierDrogba as its Ambassador, the campaign aims to reach as many Africans aspossible in an effort to raise awareness and education on road safety and savelives. Following the same model in Asia, the campaign will be distributedacross Africa via multi-sector partnerships and platforms including the IFRC'sAfrican network.

About Prudence Foundation

PrudenceFoundation is the community investment arm of Prudential in Asia and Africa.Its mission is to secure the future of communities by enhancing education,health and safety. The Foundation runs regional programmes as well as localprogrammes in partnership with NGOs, governments and the private sector inorder to maximise the impact of its efforts. Prudence Foundation leveragesPrudential's long-term mindset and geographical scale to make communitiessafer, more secure and more resilient. The Foundation is a Hong Kong registeredcharitable entity.

For moreinformation: www.prudencefoundation.com   

About the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile

The FédérationInternationale de l'Automobile (FIA) is the governing body for world motorsport and the federation of the world's leading motoring organisations.

Founded in1904, with headquarters in Paris and Geneva, the FIA is a non-profitorganisation. It brings together 240 Member Organisations from 144 countries onfive continents. Its Member Clubs represent over 70 million road users and theirfamilies.

The FIApromotes safe, sustainable and accessible mobility for all road users aroundthe world.

For moreinformation: www.fia.com

About IFRC

IFRC is the world's largest humanitariannetwork, comprising 190 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies workingto save lives and promote dignity around the world.

For more informationabout IFRC: www.ifrc.org

About Prudential Corporation Asia

Prudential Corporation Asia is a business unit of Prudentialplc (United Kingdom)*, comprising its life insurance operations in Asia, andits asset management business, Eastspring Investments. 

Prudential is a leading life insurer with operations spanning12 markets in Asia, covering Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia,Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.Prudential has a robust multi-channel distribution platform providing acomprehensive range of savings, investment and protection products to meet thediverse needs of Asian families.

Eastspring Investments manages investments across Asia onbehalf of a wide range of retail and institutional investors. It is one of theregion's largest asset managers with a presence in 11 major Asian markets plusdistribution offices in North America and Europe. It has £169 billion (aboutUS$216 billion) in assets under management (as at 30 June 2019), managing fundsacross a range of asset classes including equities and fixed income.

*Prudentialplc is an Asia-led portfolio of businesses focused on structural growthmarkets. The business helps individuals to de-risk their lives and deal withtheir biggest financial concerns through life and health insurance, andretirement and asset management solutions. Prudential plc has 20 millioncustomers and is listed on stock exchanges in London, Hong Kong, Singapore andNew York.

Prudentialplc is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc., a companywhose principal place of business is in the United States of America or withthe Prudential Assurance Company, a subsidiary of M&G plc, a companyincorporated in the United Kingdom.

For more information: www.prudentialcorporation-asia.com