At its recently held Annual Conference UKWA (the United Kingdom Warehousing Association) announced that it will mark its 75th anniversary – which it is celebrating throughout 2019 – by raising £75,000 for industry charity Transaid.
Transaid’s work includes the MAMaZ Against Malaria (MAM) programme which works to tackle severe malaria in Zambia by improving drug supply chains and access to health facilities.
UKWA CEO, Peter Ward, commented: “Transaid’s MAM campaign aims to reduce the number of lives lost to malaria across Zambia. According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) world malaria report, three million of Zambia’s entire population of nearly 17 million people were diagnosed with malaria in 2016, with one in five children under the age of five suffering this life-threatening disease.
He continued: “The money raised by UKWA will help reduce depressing mortality rates from malaria by funding development of the country’s supply chain and logistics infrastructure to reach remote communities and deliver effective treatment and vital medicines.
“UKWA adopted Transaid as its official charity in 2013 and since then our members have raised significant funds in support of various key Transaid projects. Transaid is the logistics industry’s charity, so our two organisations are a perfect fit.”
With match funding coming from a consortium of donors including major contributions from the Canadian Government, Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation funds raised by Transaid’s MAM campaign during 2019, if UKWA is successful in reaching it £75,000 target the donation will, in fact, be worth £150,000 to the charity.
Transaid’s Head of Fundraising Florence Bearman, said: “We are delighted that UKWA has undertaken to raise such a significant amount for our MAM campaign. Severe malaria is a medical emergency and many young children die as a result of delays in starting treatment within the first 24 hours of symptom onset. Children under five years old are the key target group for our intervention.”
Guests at a networking dinner that took place during UKWA’s Annual Conference got the fund off to a fine start by donating nearly £1,000 in a prize draw.
Peter Ward added: “2019 is a momentous year for UKWA and we want to do something special. What could be more fitting for our logistics sector and UKWA members than funding essential logistics infrastructure, expertise and training that has the potential to save thousands of lives? We are planning a number of high profile fund-raising events throughout the year – details of which will be announced in due course.”
UKWA was launched in 1944 when representatives from warehousing companies formed a committee to discuss the storage and distribution of food and materials in wartime Britain. Today the organisation is the leading trade body dedicated to serving the needs of the UK’s logistics industry and has over 700 members who, between them, control nearly 100 million square feet of warehousing space from nearly 1300 locations across the UK.
Transaid, which was founded founded by its Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, along with Save the Children and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, transforms lives through safe, available and sustainable transport solutions across sub-Saharan Africa.
