Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SaferAfrica (Innovating dialogue and problems appraisal for a safer Africa)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2018-04-01 do 2019-09-30
According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015 of WHO, “road traffic injuries claim more than 1.2 million lives each year and have a huge impact on health and development”.
Risk of road traffic death varies significantly by region and the disparity in road safety results is increasing. In the WHO Africa region, road traffic fatalities increased from 24.1 per 100,000 population in 2010 to 26.6 per 100,000 population in 2013. Over the same period, road fatality rates in the WHO Europe region improved from 10.3 per 100,000 population to 9.3 per 100,000 population. Road trauma in Africa is expected to worsen further, with fatalities per capita projected to double from 2015 to 2030.
Several actions are already on-going, and important policy documents are already in place, paving the way for road safety improvements. Based on the United Nation’s (UN’s) “2011-2020 a Decade of Action for Road Safety”, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) defined the African Road Safety Action Plan 2011-2020 (hereinafter “Action Plan”).
Through the adoption of the African Road Safety Charter, the Member States of the AU aimed to build a political framework to enable road safety improvement. In particular, based on the provisions of the Action Plan, specific duties and commitments for the States that ratified or accepted the Charter were defined.
In 2015, UNECA conducted a Mid-term Review of the Action Plan to assess the progress made by each country. The output of this review is constituted in the Roadmap for Accelerating the Implementation of the African Road Safety Action Plan.
These considerations suggest that Europe could play an important role in supporting African countries in improving their road safety and traffic management conditions to achieve better performance.
The general objective of SaferAfrica was to create favourable conditions and opportunities for the effective implementation of actions for road safety and traffic management in African countries by setting up a Dialogue Platform between Africa and Europe. This initiative focused on using effective tools, embedding innovative approaches and identifying pragmatic and fundable next steps to address identified road safety and traffic management problems. The Platform comprised European and African regional and national authorities (i.e. Institutions) with key road safety responsibilities, as well as other important stakeholders (e.g. International Institutions, Research Institutes and non-governmental organisations).
The Platform also provided guidance and institutional support for selecting and promoting actions to be realised in specific countries. Platform goals were:
• Contributing to developing/designing actions related to the Action Plan together with individual African countries/organisations.
• Assessing progress toward the goals of the Action Plan and, based on assessments of the solutions adopted by various countries, releasing recommendations.
• Increasing the endogenous capacities of African countries.
• Fostering the adoption of the principles of the Safe System approach.
An additional objective was to increase the awareness of African stakeholders and end-users on road safety by means of an African Road Safety Observatory. It provided in-depth information and data to the African stakeholders, as well as a set of recommendations to improve road safety situation. The Observatory also includes the Dialoague Platform interface.
Risk of road traffic death varies significantly by region and the disparity in road safety results is increasing. In the WHO Africa region, road traffic fatalities increased from 24.1 per 100,000 population in 2010 to 26.6 per 100,000 population in 2013. Over the same period, road fatality rates in the WHO Europe region improved from 10.3 per 100,000 population to 9.3 per 100,000 population. Road trauma in Africa is expected to worsen further, with fatalities per capita projected to double from 2015 to 2030.
Several actions are already on-going, and important policy documents are already in place, paving the way for road safety improvements. Based on the United Nation’s (UN’s) “2011-2020 a Decade of Action for Road Safety”, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) defined the African Road Safety Action Plan 2011-2020 (hereinafter “Action Plan”).
Through the adoption of the African Road Safety Charter, the Member States of the AU aimed to build a political framework to enable road safety improvement. In particular, based on the provisions of the Action Plan, specific duties and commitments for the States that ratified or accepted the Charter were defined.
In 2015, UNECA conducted a Mid-term Review of the Action Plan to assess the progress made by each country. The output of this review is constituted in the Roadmap for Accelerating the Implementation of the African Road Safety Action Plan.
These considerations suggest that Europe could play an important role in supporting African countries in improving their road safety and traffic management conditions to achieve better performance.
The general objective of SaferAfrica was to create favourable conditions and opportunities for the effective implementation of actions for road safety and traffic management in African countries by setting up a Dialogue Platform between Africa and Europe. This initiative focused on using effective tools, embedding innovative approaches and identifying pragmatic and fundable next steps to address identified road safety and traffic management problems. The Platform comprised European and African regional and national authorities (i.e. Institutions) with key road safety responsibilities, as well as other important stakeholders (e.g. International Institutions, Research Institutes and non-governmental organisations).
The Platform also provided guidance and institutional support for selecting and promoting actions to be realised in specific countries. Platform goals were:
• Contributing to developing/designing actions related to the Action Plan together with individual African countries/organisations.
• Assessing progress toward the goals of the Action Plan and, based on assessments of the solutions adopted by various countries, releasing recommendations.
• Increasing the endogenous capacities of African countries.
• Fostering the adoption of the principles of the Safe System approach.
An additional objective was to increase the awareness of African stakeholders and end-users on road safety by means of an African Road Safety Observatory. It provided in-depth information and data to the African stakeholders, as well as a set of recommendations to improve road safety situation. The Observatory also includes the Dialoague Platform interface.
Main SaferAfrica activities referred to setting up the conditions to foster the Dialogue on road safety between Europe and Africa.
Road safety data were collected through focused questionnaires and analysis were performed in order to define the set of minimum and standardised road traffic crash data that should be recommended for African countries. In parallel, the design and implementation of an African Road Safety Observatory was performed.
Road safety management capacity reviews have been performed in African countries representing the general conditions of the five African regions. Interviews with stakeholders and decision-makers have been performed (and some are on-going) being the basis for the preparation of recommendations for future actions on road safety management.
An in-depth analysis of the current training modules on road safety existing in African countries have been performed, leading to the definition of a training manual for universities and for public body stakeholders. E-learning modules through which these training modules could be exploited have also been studied. Development of e-learning tools was completed (all modules available on the website of African Road Safety Observatory). Twinning programs on road safety have been realised (train the trainer activities and study tours).
A set of good road safety practices (both in African and in Europe) has been identified as standard examples of what could be applied in Africa to improve road safety conditions. A methodological framework for the transferability analysis of these good practices has been developed. The framework has been applied so that the adaptability of good road safety interventions to African countries have been assessed.
A significant part of the activities focused on the assessment of the application of the African Road Safety Action Plan by countries in Africa. The information has been collected to this aim and stakeholders have been contacted to discuss the Plan application.
All the above-mentioned activities and outcomes provide basic concepts to develop recommendations to improve road safety. A central part of SaferAfrica consists in establishing a Dialogue with African and European stakeholders about these recommendations. The Dialogue Platform of SaferAfrica has been established. Institutional stakeholders (such as UNECA, World Bank, African Development Bank, WHO, FIA, etc.) have participated in the Management Board of the Dialogue Platform. Moreover, more than 140 African stakeholders compose the SaferAfrica network.
A web tool supporting the Dialogue with stakeholders has also been developed.
Workshops have been organised to discuss with selected stakeholders about SaferAfrica results and road safety issues.
Road safety data were collected through focused questionnaires and analysis were performed in order to define the set of minimum and standardised road traffic crash data that should be recommended for African countries. In parallel, the design and implementation of an African Road Safety Observatory was performed.
Road safety management capacity reviews have been performed in African countries representing the general conditions of the five African regions. Interviews with stakeholders and decision-makers have been performed (and some are on-going) being the basis for the preparation of recommendations for future actions on road safety management.
An in-depth analysis of the current training modules on road safety existing in African countries have been performed, leading to the definition of a training manual for universities and for public body stakeholders. E-learning modules through which these training modules could be exploited have also been studied. Development of e-learning tools was completed (all modules available on the website of African Road Safety Observatory). Twinning programs on road safety have been realised (train the trainer activities and study tours).
A set of good road safety practices (both in African and in Europe) has been identified as standard examples of what could be applied in Africa to improve road safety conditions. A methodological framework for the transferability analysis of these good practices has been developed. The framework has been applied so that the adaptability of good road safety interventions to African countries have been assessed.
A significant part of the activities focused on the assessment of the application of the African Road Safety Action Plan by countries in Africa. The information has been collected to this aim and stakeholders have been contacted to discuss the Plan application.
All the above-mentioned activities and outcomes provide basic concepts to develop recommendations to improve road safety. A central part of SaferAfrica consists in establishing a Dialogue with African and European stakeholders about these recommendations. The Dialogue Platform of SaferAfrica has been established. Institutional stakeholders (such as UNECA, World Bank, African Development Bank, WHO, FIA, etc.) have participated in the Management Board of the Dialogue Platform. Moreover, more than 140 African stakeholders compose the SaferAfrica network.
A web tool supporting the Dialogue with stakeholders has also been developed.
Workshops have been organised to discuss with selected stakeholders about SaferAfrica results and road safety issues.
The primary expected impact of SaferAfrica consisted in reducing the road accident burden through the implementation of a formal structure for African road safety champions to meet and foster efficient management and interventions.
The target audience of the Platform included primarily decision-makers and funders directly involved in the definition and implementation of the Action Plan. Several other stakeholders took part in the Platform activities. These stakeholders contributed to promoting Platform activities and disseminating the project results widely in order to achieve the greatest possible impact. As a result, SaferAfrica impacted African society as a whole by improving the road safety conditions of African residents. Other relevant impacts of SaferAfrica include:
• Increased knowledge and understanding of the status of and barriers to attaining road safety goals in Africa.
• Country road safety policies and strategies better aligned to the Action Plan and its goals.
• Greater knowledge of Safe System principles.
• Dissemination and implementation of highly effective road safety interventions.
The target audience of the Platform included primarily decision-makers and funders directly involved in the definition and implementation of the Action Plan. Several other stakeholders took part in the Platform activities. These stakeholders contributed to promoting Platform activities and disseminating the project results widely in order to achieve the greatest possible impact. As a result, SaferAfrica impacted African society as a whole by improving the road safety conditions of African residents. Other relevant impacts of SaferAfrica include:
• Increased knowledge and understanding of the status of and barriers to attaining road safety goals in Africa.
• Country road safety policies and strategies better aligned to the Action Plan and its goals.
• Greater knowledge of Safe System principles.
• Dissemination and implementation of highly effective road safety interventions.