#Wellnessgoals #BWMindsetChange

The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA Fund) successfully hosted two inaugural Safe Mobility events on July 3rd and 4th, 2023. These events, held in Mogoditshane and the Gaborone International Conference Centre, were part of the MVA Fund Mphatlalatsane Strategic Plan 2023-2027 initiatives, aimed at achieving safer mobility and reducing road accidents in Botswana.

Aligned with the UN Global Plan of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, which recognizes road traffic crashes as a pressing developmental priority and public health challenge, these events showcased the MVA Fund’s commitment to addressing road safety concerns. Botswana, with aspirations to transition to a high-income economy by 2036, acknowledges the importance of safe and efficient transport systems to achieve both national and global objectives. Road safety, defined as the absence of risk for injury or death from road traffic crashes, is a critical component of efficient and sustainable mobility.

Over the past ten years, Botswana has witnessed a high number of road traffic injuries and deaths, averaging 415 fatalities annually with a rate of 18 deaths per 100,000 population. These figures exceed the global average of 17.4 and far surpass the fatality rate of 9.2 deaths per 100,000 population in high-income countries. The adverse impact of road traffic crashes on Botswana’s socio-economic landscape poses a threat to the nation’s efforts for economic transformation. Recent incidents, resulting in the loss of 23 lives, serve as a wake-up call for citizens to take action and demand change.

The MVA Fund has allocated substantial resources, approximately P200 million, to cover social security expenses for victims of road traffic crashes, underlining the urgency of prioritizing safe mobility. To drive the adoption of road safety management best practices, the Fund has included advocacy as a strategic initiative. Several areas have been identified for improvement in Botswana’s road safety landscape, including the prioritization of road safety, adopting a Safe Systems Approach, establishing effective road safety leadership structures, and implementing a 30-Day fatality definition.

As part of these efforts, the MVA Fund organized the Safe Mobility Forum on July 4th, 2023, at the Gaborone International Conference Centre (GICC). The forum, held under the theme “Resetting the Road Safety Agenda: Adopting Best Practices for Safe Mobility Towards Sustainable Development and Economic Transformation,” aimed to bring together stakeholders and policymakers to reflect on and discuss opportunities for change. Dr Brett Hughes, a renowned road safety specialist, advocate, and transport researcher from Australia, delivered a keynote address at the event. The program included presentations, panel discussions, and culminated in the signing of a safe mobility declaration by all stakeholders.

Preceding the forum, the MVA Fund organized the Safe Mobility Challenge on July 2nd, 2023. This awareness campaign focused on promoting the safety of vulnerable road users through activities such as walking, running, and cycling. Aligned with the United Nations Global Road Safety Week 2023 theme of Sustainable Transport – Rethinking Mobility, the campaign highlighted the importance of shifting towards walking, cycling, and public transport to reduce crash risks and environmental impact from car emissions.

The MVA Fund Safe Mobility events were made possible through partnerships with various stakeholders, including the Botswana Cycling Association, Fearless Fitness Club, Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Department of Road Transport Services, and Botswana Police Service. Additional supporters of the initiative included Minet Botswana, Emergency Assist 991, Vivo Energy, Total Energies Botswana, Kgalagadi Breweries Limited, Unitrans Botswana, Botswana Defence Force, Botswana Red Cross Society, Bike for Future, and Gaborone Bicycle Mayor. The Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Hon. Tumiso Rakgare, participated as a guest rider and speaker at the event.

By organizing these events and engaging various stakeholders, the MVA Fund is actively working towards its goal of achieving safer mobility in Botswana. Through continued efforts and collaborations, the aim is to reduce road traffic accidents, ensure the well-being of citizens, and support the nation’s economic transformation.

MVA Fund was awarded a Certificate of Merit for its Case Management Strategy during the awards ceremony held on May 17th 2023 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The International Social Security Association (ISSA) Good Practice Award is an award given to social security institutions as a way of recognizing their exceptional work and innovation to achieve excellence in delivering social security mandates. The Good Practice Awards are presented regionally over a three-year cycle and the 2023 awards were announced at the Regional Social Security Forum for Africa (RSSF Africa), held on 17th -19th May 2023 at Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The competition is open to all member institutions and a Jury of the ISSA Good Practice Awards composed of recognized social security experts with global and regional experience, is set up to evaluate the submissions. This year, 137 submissions were received from 47 organizations in 30 countries for the Award. The Fund was among some institutions who were awarded the Good Practice Award for its Case Management Strategy.

The Case Management Strategy was developed in 2018 and its main objective was to improve and intensify the Fund’s case management; rehabilitation of claimants and managing all benefits offered by the Fund, while ensuring excellent service delivery and financial sustainability.

The Strategy summarized the case management value proposition, demonstrating that for the Fund to maintain financial sustainability and ensure excellent service delivery to its customers and stakeholders, one of the key approaches is effective case management. This became the base and priority of the MVA Fund Case Management Strategy. The key performance indicators of the Strategy were assisting all eligible claimants, timely compensation, early and appropriate medical attention following the road traffic accident and the number of severely injured claimants achieving optimal level of functioning.

This improved service delivery is informed by the MVA Fund corporate strategy and supports several ISSA Guidelines being the Service Quality guidelines – promoting the responsiveness of the organizations to the needs of its customers and Guidelines on Return-to-Work and Integration which promote a paradigm shift form compensation to management.

In addition to the Certificate of Merit, the Fund was also awarded Attestations for the implementation of the Case Management System and the development of the Fund’s Financial Sustainability Strategy (FSS). The CEO, Mr. Michael M. Tlhagwane presented the paper titled “Investing Reserve Funds and Financing Social Security Benefits and Services; Liquidity Requirements and Alternative Investment Strategies” at the forum.

The Forum addressed a range of topical priority issues for the African region; the extension of coverage, the evolving protection needs of populations and the leadership role of social security institutions for the development of social security systems in a context of complex labour market, economic and demographic developments. As a priority, the Forum also focused on how management and service delivery are transforming, and how social security can contribute to resilience and sustainability.

This past weekend our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Michael Tlhagwane was invited as a guest walker by the Assemblies of God Church, Gaborone Assembly during the Church’s Wellness Day, and Family Fun Day. The event was aimed at promoting the welfare of the family against emerging social ills which negatively affect the family ‘s stability.

The event was held under the Theme, Our Families Our Responsibility. The Theme addressed the deepening social ills confronting families such as Gender Base Violence, Drug Abuse, Child Sexual Exploitation and trafficking and public health challenges like Non-Communicable Diseases Motor Vehicle Accidents etc. The theme resonated well with the Fund’s mandate of preventing road crashes and assisting those involved or affected by road crashes.

Mr Tlhagwane appreciated the invitation and the Fund’s participation because “the Fund cannot discharge its mandate without other partners like the AOG Church. I also know that when we partner with the Church, for sure we will reap the benefits.

The Church is a place of worship, where moral ethics are upheld. The Church has the ability to change one’s behaviour as it is written in the Holy Bible in the Book of 2 Corinthians 5: 17 reads thus “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things become new.” he said.
He further indicated that some accidents occur because of our behaviours, some people get involved in car crashes because of indulgence in drugs, and the effects of gender-based violence will negatively impact an individual on how they use the road. They may find themselves knocked down by a car or not paying attention while driving eventually causing an accident. We need the Church to play its role in assisting people to become new creatures. He encouraged the Church to play a meaningful role in protecting families against these social ills.

MVA Fund – Living the promise.

In response to the urgent need for blood in the country, MVA Fund staff members rallied together to make a difference by organizing a successful Blood Donation Drive. Staff members generously donated significant amounts of blood to support this crucial cause.

This remarkable initiative aligns perfectly with the Fund’s mission, which aims to improve the quality of life by promoting road safety and providing compensation, rehabilitation, and support to individuals affected by road crashes. It is essential to note that victims of road crashes often require blood during their medical treatment, and the Fund’s blood donation initiative served as a valuable contribution.

Every drop counts and as a responsible citizen, your participation can make a substantial difference in saving lives and instilling hope in patients facing critical conditions.

The MVA Fund hosted Loss of support engagement seminar on the 27th April 2023 in Molepolole. Loss of support benefit is offered to dependants of those who lost their lives as a result of a motor vehicle accident. In addition to the Fund claimants, the event was also graced by the Magistrate Office, Office of District Commissioner, Social and Community Development (S & CD), Births & Deaths Registration with the aim to capacitate the participants about products and services.

The workshop brought together more than sixty participants and six diverse Organizations involved in provision of psychosocial support and social welfare.

The Magistrate Office shared their role especially on the rights of the children, and this included but not limited to family related issues such as paternity and maintenance orders, adoption and child welfare. In addition to services offered, Birth and Deaths registration encouraged the participants to include fathers in the birth certificates, to make children’s lives easer regarding different benefits that they may need to claim for.

The Fund aims to continue with these educational campaigns and engagement seminars around the country to improve the management of this benefit.

MVA Fund- Living the Promise

The events for the day also included testimonials from road crash survivors. in addition, discussions by specialists we held to deliberate on issues such as Prehospital trauma management, management, and rehabilitation of spinal cord injured patients and how trauma management can be improved in Botswana. Not only did these interactions solidify the relationships that the Fund has with its stakeholders, but they also demonstrated the integral role that they play in the achievement of the Fund’s vision.

MVA Fund hosted a stakeholder engagement forum on 5th November 2021 which attracted 40 stakeholders from organisations such as Botswana Police Service, Department of Road Transport & Safety, Department of Roads, Offices of the District Commissioners for Gaborone, Lobatse, Ramotswa, Mogoditshane, Lentsweletau, and Thamaga, Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport & Culture Development, Ministry of Basic Education, and NGOs.

The forum was held under the theme “Information Sharing Key to Effective Road Safety Partnerships” The objective of the forum was to create a platform where road safety stakeholders would come together and share critical information that would enhance future planning for road safety. The event was officially opened by MVA Fund Board Acting Chairperson Ms. Prescilla Gower.

Information shared included the road safety situation in Botswana, highlights of the 2nd Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, the Safe Systems Approach, update on legislative changes & data systems improvement, road infrastructure improvement and collaboration with civil society. Stakeholders appreciated the information shared and provided recommendations for further improvement of road safety in Botswana.

The event was followed by the launch of First Aid Awareness programme which was co-produced by MVA Fund, Botswana Chamber of Mines, and Botswana Red Cross Society. The programme is aimed at sensitising the public about how to render first assistance to victims of road crashes at the crash scene. It was graced by various media houses.