Euro-African initiative on road safety and traffic management

This Euro-African R&I initiative on road safety and traffic management is meant to bring together the key players and the best available expertise on both sides; and to complement existing activities at local, bi-regional and international level, drawing lessons from their implementation and building upon their achievements. The ultimate purpose is to promote the adoption of sound innovative solutions to address safety concerns and improve mobility in Africa, particularly in urban areas and along the main corridors, in line with the goals of the African Road Safety Charter. The initiative takes the form of a Coordination and Support Action encompassing two components. Proposals should address these two components together:

1) The action will set up a dialogue platform involving African and European national road safety authorities and experts, with the participation of representatives of the African Union Commission, the African Regional Economic Communities and the relevant international organisations. The platform should serve the purpose of comparing methodologies and disseminating best practice, promoting knowledge transfer and collaboration, and assessing progress towards the objectives of the African Road Safety Action Plan 2020.

2) The action will produce evidence gathering and data collection, as well as analysis of risk factors (speed, drinking, lack of user protection devices, etc.), allowing a factual appraisal of the problems at stake and a mapping of the critical areas and challenges. It will analyse the most appropriate road safety assessment methodologies and management systems, and define criteria for measuring future progress. It will also identify requirements for skills development and training of staff, and research and innovation needs, with a view to quick deployment of suitable solutions.

A balanced participation of European and African partners in these activities is expected, also with the aim of reinforcing endogenous African capabilities, and will be taken into account in the evaluation of proposals.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 2.5 and 3.0 million each would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Road safety in Africa represents a dramatic problem per se – 300,000 fatalities and over 5 million injured per year – with vast negative social and economic impacts: on the livelihood of African families, on the public health systems, on the very prospects of poverty reduction and economic development. The state of road infrastructure and vehicles, the insufficient deployment of modern traffic management systems, the inadequate legal and regulatory framework, the weak enforcement of safety measures, the lack of trained staff, the widespread improper behaviour of road users, the insufficient public awareness, are all factors that contribute to making Africa’s record on road safety the worst in the world.

In line with the Sustainable Development Goals and with the principles of the Joint EU-Africa Strategy (JAES), the activities to be implemented will contribute to:

―The improvement of road safety and traffic fluidity conditions in Africa, ultimately saving thousands of lives and lessening the human, social and economic burden of road accidents.

―The reinforcement of endogenous African capabilities with a view to long term sustainable progress in the fight against road casualties and for a more efficient and sustainable transport system.

―The dissemination of European know-how and the deployment of sound technical and governance solutions.