Skip to main content

Third African safety conference – held in Addis Ababa

IRF providing input for the revision of the African Decade of Action Plan As part of the preparations for the second Global High Level Conference on Road Safety to be held in Brasilia later this year, UNECA, in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC), African Transport Policy Programme (SSATP), the Global Road Safety Facility of the World Bank, the International Road Federation (IRF-Geneva) and other partners, organised the Third African Road Safety Conference on 9 and 10 July 2015 at the U
August 18, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A key conference conclusion was that better data would help deliver improved road safety
IRF providing input for the revision of the African Decade of Action Plan

As part of the preparations for the second Global High Level Conference on Road Safety to be held in Brasilia later this year, UNECA, in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC), African Transport Policy Programme (SSATP), the Global Road Safety Facility of the World Bank, the International Road Federation (1201 IRF Geneva) and other partners, organised the Third African Road Safety Conference on 9 and 10 July 2015 at the United Nation Conference Centre in Addis Ababa.

The objective of this conference was to review the progress made towards the objectives of the African Road Safety Action Plan (2011-2020). As part of this review, the conference covered the progress made by member states have in implementing the African Road Safety Action Plan; and identifying the challenges to the implementation of the Action Plan.

The conference was kicked off with address by Tekletsadik Reba, State Minister of Transport for Ethiopia, Jean Todt, and the UN Special Envoy for Road Safety, and Kiran Kapila, IRF Geneva chairman. Todt highlighted the need to collect more and better data in his address. Kapila, IRF Geneva chairman, gave a keynote address in which he emphasised the need to improve road safety not just on new roads, but also on existing roads. According to UNECA, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa are the “top three performers among 23 countries” in terms of carrying out the activities of the African Road Safety Action Plan. While progress has and is being made, the performance of countries in implementing the Plan and improving road safety has been mixed. Meanwhile, around 40% of the countries are implementing road safety management activities. But more than 30% of the countries have not even take steps to harmonise data formats and use international standards for reporting road safety data.

One of the key conclusions of the conference was that the availability and quality of data needed to be improved. Better, and more data, the conference concluded would greatly help in designing evidence based interventions and improving road safety.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • A vision for safer roads in the West Balkans
    March 6, 2017
    The West Balkan countries are at a turning point in their political resolve to address road traffic injuries, but must step up efforts on the ground to deploy sustained and systemic responses to what has become a major public health crisis
  • Ethiopia’s challenging cement market: consumption stimulation
    January 26, 2018
    Ethiopia’s cement industry has enjoyed substantial growth in the past decade. However, challenges linked to the government’s investment policy could erode these gains, as Shem Oirere reports With nearly 16.5 million tonnes of cement capacity and 10% average growth in annual consumption, Ethiopia is among the top cement producers in sub-Saharan Africa. Only Nigeria and South Africa rival it.
  • IRF Geneva steering the working groups of the National ITS Committee in India
    September 28, 2018
    Following the establishment of a National Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Committee by NITI Aayog, three working groups (WGs) have been created with the mission to formulate policy recommendations on education, legal aspects and innovation. IRF has entered into a Statement of Intent (SOI) with NITI Aayog, Govt of India, to work towards a coherent national ITS policy and is accordingly now chairing the work of the three WGs. Eight pillars of priority action have now been identified and ongoing pilots
  • UN sets global target for road safety
    October 21, 2015
    The UN has set a global benchmark for reducing traffic fatalities on the world’s road network. Data shows that every year, almost 1.3 million people are killed in road crashes around the globe, according to information gathered by the World Health Organisation (WHO). In a bid to tackle this major problem, world leaders recently vowed to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020. This target was agreed at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York.