Cutting African road deaths with better safety measures

Using better safety measures will help cutting African road deaths.
By MJ Woof March 16, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
Africa’s rural roads present different safety hazards – image © courtesy of Mike Woof

A partnership programme administered by the World Bank is aiming to cut road deaths worldwide. The Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) is a global multi-donor fund aimed at helping governments develop road safety management capacity and scale up road safety delivery in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

As part of an agreement with the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF), Total Foundation says it will be supporting the African Road Safety Observatory by helping to implement a range of training programs targeting different local stakeholders.

The project is intended to help countries like Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda analyse available data to identify issues and deliver road safety strategies.

This is an important move and according to the Total Foundation, According to the World Health Organization’s latest report, Africa remains the region with the highest road-accident fatality rate in the world. Road crashes are the number one cause of death among young people aged 5-29.

The African Road Safety Observatory (ARSO) was established in 2018 as part of the projects supported by the FIA High Level Panel, whose members include Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Total.

The Observatory’s mission is to encourage a coordinated effort on the part of African countries to ensure greater road safety. In particular, it aims to collect, analyse and share data to provide a better understanding of the risk factors and to develop effective solutions for reducing the number of accidents across the continent.

Training programmes offered by the GRSF will aim to improve the understanding of the challenges faced, as well as strengthen the skills and commitment of all stakeholders, to support the use of data collection and analysis tools on the ground. The goal is to enable decision-making based on reliable information, while fostering collaboration across the continent.

According to the GRSF, this is a key issue to be tackled. Africa’s losses and suffering from road crashes are more serious than for any other continent. In Africa there are over 26 road death/100,000 people/year. This compares with a global average of 18/100,000. The world’s best performing countries have less than 3 deaths/100,000. This is not only a human and social disaster, it also slows down economic growth in African countries.

Road Markings, Barriers & Workzone Protection

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Thailand to tackle illegal motorway racers and child road death toll
    May 9, 2012
    Illegal motorway car racers in Thailand are to be targeted with additional radio frequency identification (RFID) systems and surveillance cameras. The move comes after Thai authorities have been tackling high-speed motorcycle racing involving youth gangs, mainly from low-income households. Meanwhile, a new seatbelt law for children is set to be introduced in a bid to reduce the country’s number of child accident deaths. It will make it compulsory for children aged below 15 to use a seatbelt when a passenger
    Read More
  • Drive Safe India Initiative: Improving Safety of Truck Drivers and Goods Transport
    July 14, 2017
    In India, more than 11% of all fatalities from traffic accidents, or over 16,000 lives, involve commercial vehicles Given the loss of life, and the costs of damage to goods and property, there is an urgent need to reduce, and eventually eliminate this unnecessary loss of life. Shell, Michelin, and IRF Geneva have come together with a new initiative "Drive Safe India" (www.drivesafeindia.org) to improve all aspects of safety associated with transport of goods on Indian roads. The goal of the Drive Safe Ind
    Read More
  • European transport safety programme
    March 29, 2019
    A new programme of transport safety measures has been drawn up for Europe, with funding having been secured. Called the Safer Transport Platform, this programme is being managed jointly by the European Investment Bank and European Commission. The plans call for a series of investments in transport safety, with a special focus on roads New financing measures form part of the Safer Transport Platform, a joint EC and EIB initiative. This will address investment needs in transport safety in Europe. At the TE
    Read More
  • Liebherr achieves record turnover in 2012
    April 10, 2013
    The Liebherr Group achieved its highest turnover in its history in 2012. Turnover climbed over than 9% to €9.1 billion, while the company invested a total of €840 million in its operations. The 2012 business year progressed well for the Liebherr Group. Although the reduced dynamism of the world economy had a noticeable effect on orders received in the final months of the year, this no longer influenced turnover significantly. The Group increased its total turnover in the past business year by more than €760
    Read More

Highlighted Content