If current trends persist, Zambia will face 115,000 preventable deaths and more than 486,000 people will be permanently disabled over the next 30 years. Credit: Shutterstock

By Nneka Henry and Dudley Tarlton
GENEVA, Dec 1 2023 (IPS)

Even as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic it will still face an epidemic on its roads, claiming over one million lives and injuring up to 50 million people annually. Against this head-spinning backdrop, making decisions that allow us to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target of a 50% reduction in road deaths can feel like walking blindfolded.

All is not well, but all is not lost, either.

Road crashes cost the Zambian economy USD 910 million annually, equivalent to 4.7% of Zambia’s GDP. Yet the case for action is strong. By investing now in road safety, Zambia can avert more than 50,000 deaths, prevent more than 130,000 permanent disabilities, and avoid USD 12.8 billion in economic costs over 30 years

Data and analysis serve as a guiding light, providing a factual basis to drive effective strategies and investments. Whether it is tobacco control, alcohol consumption, or other non-communicable diseases like road traffic injuries, tapping into data helps us understand trends, identify patterns, and predict potential return on investment outcomes.

The United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) was created in 2018 in part to help low- and middle-income countries unlock sustainable sources of domestic road safety financing. In 2023, the year that the world declared the end of the global COVID-19 public health emergency, the UN has been scaling up its work to prevent road traffic deaths before they happen in the countries with some of the world’s highest road traffic fatality rates.

Specifically, UNRSF partners have been advocating that a powerful solution lies in making a robust investment case for road safety. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has recognized the significant gains to be made across the SDG agenda by reducing the harm from road crashes, a level of harm that is too often treated as acceptable. Guided by its health strategy, UNDP is working with Ministries of Transport to make the case to Ministries of Finance and Planning for increased and sustainable investments in road safety.

In Zambia, for the first-time ever, the government and UNDP, financed by UNRSF, have been working on a national road safety financing investment case. In Zambia, there are 24.7 road deaths per 100,000 population every year, which exceeds the global road fatality rate of 18.2 per 100,000 population. If current trends persist, Zambia will face 115,000 preventable deaths and more than 486,000 people will be permanently disabled over the next 30 years.

The investment case provides Zambian decision-makers with the nationally-based data and advocacy messaging that can help set priority actions and investment allocations for the ultimate public health outcome of saving as many lives as possible from preventable road traffic death.

The case found that road crashes cost the Zambian economy USD 910 million annually, equivalent to 4.7% of Zambia’s GDP. Yet the case for action is strong. By investing now in road safety, Zambia can avert more than 50,000 deaths, prevent more than 130,000 permanent disabilities, and avoid USD 12.8 billion in economic costs over 30 years.

The report highlights five key interventions – speed bumps, roadside pathways, road crossings, post-crash prehospital care, and alcohol breath testing – which collectively offer a significant return on investment. By investing in road safety measures, Zambia can expect a return-on-investment of 2.3:1 over 5 years and 9.6:1 over 30 years​​. This indicates a significant long-term financial benefit from these interventions.

UNDP has successfully used health investment cases before to help policymakers advocate for increased investment in the health interventions that yield the greatest health and economic returns. The cases have focused on health challenges such as non-communicable diseases, mental health, air pollution, tobacco control and now road safety.

This data-driven approach would likely yield similar or even greater outcomes for road safety, where many road deaths could be prevented with just a modest amount of catalytic and reliable funding. Primary responsibility rests with governments, which can ensure sustainability through state resource allocations, as well as road user charges, fuel taxes, levies on private sector insurance, traffic fines revenues, and loans.

UN Road Safety Fund partners remain committed to building roadmaps and capacities within governments through the use of investment cases and other sources of data and analysis – including the 2023 Global Status Report on Road Safety which will be launched on 13 December.

As we cross the halfway mark for implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, a key funding priority for UNRSF partners will be to co-design and leverage compelling country investment cases for road safety, which can be used to build an investable pipeline of projects with a broader programmatic approach to road safety.

Investing in road safety is not just a financial decision – though the case for the economic benefits have been made – it is also a public health imperative that will save lives and reduce inequalities. By addressing the staggering human, economic, and societal costs of unsafe roads, a sustainable domestic financing framework can be unlocked, leading to a safer, more prosperous future for all.

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An aerial photograph of a busy roundabout in Lusaka Zambia. Credit: UNRSF.

By Nneka Henry
GENEVA, Apr 27 2023 (IPS)

Crises may be a centuries-old phenomenon, but so too is human resilience.

The high number of road deaths and life-changing injuries in the global south is a crisis that affects millions of people every year. In 2018 alone – the year that the UN Road Safety Fund was established – 1.3 million people died on the world’s roads, and another 50 million were injured or disabled.

Recognizing the world’s state of increasing complexities, the Fund has been meeting the global road safety challenge head-on. It has done this through a coordinated and multi-faceted approach that addresses the underlying cause of unsafe roads whilst also addressing interconnections with other global development crises

These numbers are even more sobering against the backdrop of multiple global crises that range from the coronavirus pandemic to the climate emergency, the cost of living crisis to geopolitical conflicts. As daunting as the mounting crises facing the world may be, the millions of lives and livelihoods lost to road crashes has made the Fund as resolute as ever to continue to mobilize and coordinate effective responses to very real road safety needs.

Recognizing the world’s state of increasing complexities, the Fund has been meeting the global road safety challenge head-on. It has done this through a coordinated and multi-faceted approach that addresses the underlying cause of unsafe roads whilst also addressing interconnections with other global development crises.

As the only United Nations body solely dedicated to channelling resources and expertise to tackling the root cause of the crisis, preventing further loss of life is, and will always be, our ultimate goal.

How could it not be – considering that road traffic crashes take the lives of around 3,700 people each day; the equivalent of losing a large cruise ship of passengers at maximum capacity. Through annual Calls for Proposals, the Fund coordinates and finances projects that help ensure road safety is treated as the significant public health issue that it is.

In Brazil, our project partner, the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, worked with the Department of Transport to correct and improve speed control operations including with the use of portable equipment on all of the Pará State highways. The project resulted in a doubling breathalyzer tests to over 78,000 carried out in 2022 and contributed to decreasing the rate of traffic deaths by a third, down from 6.13 per 10,000 vehicles in 2021 to 4.13 in 2022.

Underpinning the Fund’s ability to effectively address the road safety crisis is our comparative advantage of encouraging international collaboration and cooperation through pooled financial resources and technical knowledge. The more financial and technical partners that participate in the Fund the more comprehensive our response has been, spanning road safety-related legislation, enforcement, education, use of technology and implementation of international regulations and standards.

In the case of West Africa – led by our project partners the UN Environment Programme and UN Economic Commission for Europe – the Fund collaborated on an initiative with the UN Economic Commission for Africa, FIA, and the International Motor Vehicles Inspection Committee.

This has supported the 15 ECOWAS members states to adopt and roll out a regionally-harmonized vehicle directive and technical inspection system, which sets a common standard to safeguard the safety and environmental-friendliness of used vehicles on West African roads. It is now helping to decrease the number of vehicles involved in fatal crashes due to technical defects by 50%, saving thousands of lives.

Nneka Henry, Head of UN Road Safety Fund

Key to strengthening the Fund’s global outreach and engagement is our commitment to communicate clearly and effectively with the public, stakeholders, and decision-makers to ensure that everyone is up-to-date and engaged in the response efforts.

In addition to project planning information sessions which encourage knowledge exchange, and building synergies and complementary financing opportunities before projects are finalized; the Fund also delivers three main flagship events. These include the virtual Open Day for project partners to share project results, the launch of the Annual Impact Report, which takes place on the margins of the International Transport Forum Summit, and the Highlights Country Visit for stakeholders to deep dive into projects that the Fund is supporting.

As global citizens we are all facing a crossroads of crises. The Fund’s response has been to invest in supporting interconnections with other development priorities as a way to build resilience and preparedness for future crises.

Mindful of economic crises, the Fund’s investment in safe transport and road infrastructure is vital. This is what we have been doing in support of the Tanzanian government – with project partners the International Road Assessment Programme, International Road Federation and the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

This initiative has been helping to reduce traffic crashes that place a heavy additional economic burden on families, governments and employers – spanning medical expenses, lost income, and reduced productivity – all of which costs the global economy US$ 1.85 trillion each year.

Low- and middle-income countries devote considerable public personnel and other resources to the treatment and rehabilitation of people injured in road crashes. There is, therefore, a compelling need to reduce the road crash burden on national healthcare systems freeing up critical resources to address other pressing health issues.

Considering ongoing health crises, the Fund is investing in effective post-crash responses – a focus area for the 2023 Call for Proposals and an issue we address in countries like Bangladesh and Azerbaijan, which suffer high rates of road casualties.

Mitigating the effects of climate change, the Fund also invests in cleaner ways of moving safely, including through the Reclaiming the Streets project across Africa to prioritize safe walking and cycling lanes for pedestrians and cyclists who also happen to be our most vulnerable road users.

During these years of polycrises, the Fund has relied on the global solutions approach to rise to the global road safety challenge. And, this month, as the Fund celebrates five years, I challenge more nations, companies and individuals to invest in the only global response comprehensively addressing the root causes of poor national road safety systems across the world. Join us in our sustained effort and rise to meet the serious and interconnected challenges that is the global road safety crisis today.

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School children crossing the road on a pedestrian crossing in Kyrgyzstan. Credit: Victor Lacken - UNRSF.

By Nneka Henry
GENEVA, Feb 17 2022 (IPS)

When we think about global crises, road safety isn’t one that comes to mind. The reality is that unsafe roads is a health crisis gone rogue. 

Unlike the COVID-19 pandemic, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death from people between the ages of 5-29. And, with an estimated 1.35 million fatalities and 50 million non-fatal injuries every year, unsafe vehicles and roads affect everyone and impact several areas of development – including environmental sustainability. 

Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death from people between the ages of 5-29. And, with an estimated 1.35 million fatalities and 50 million non-fatal injuries every year, unsafe vehicles and roads affect everyone

In 2015, the United Nations raised the alarm. The 2030 Global Development Agenda expressly recognizes that road safety can be improved by governments providing access to safe, affordable and “greener” ways of moving, including public transport. (Sustainable Development Goal 11.2)

There are plenty of things that the UN is doing to solve this global crisis, but it cannot solve it alone. Here are three questions to spur action towards making roads safer for road users everywhere.

How committed are our governments to solving the road safety crisis?

To solve this crisis, we need a show of commitment, especially from governments. One way of doing that is for leaders across the developed and developing world to take an active role in safe and sustainable mobility.

The UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Improving Road Safety on 30 June 2022 in New York could be the moment in history when UN member states commit to consciously prioritize and fund a development assistance package of safe and clean mobility measures in low- and middle-income countries. 

This package could include designing and implementing safe modes of transport that are equally low-emission solutions such as affordable public transportation; accessible walking and cycling lanes; or safe and clean used vehicle standards. 

It’s time for governments to show support, attend the High-Level Meeting and make the case for why road safety is a national priority and a priority for development assistance. And, in turn, for G7 countries to include road safety as a priority in the G7 Summit Communique 26-28 June 2022, just days before the UN High-Level Meeting on Road Safety.

How can we collectively build capacity in countries with high road fatalities?

The WHO together with UN Regional Commissions have helped structure a targeted action plan on road safety for the global community to rally around and implement. However, with more than 90% of road traffic fatalities occurring in low- and middle-income countries, with Africa as the hardest hit region, mobilizing finances to implement the plan remains a critical challenge.  

The UN is crowding in and around a wide range of partners to ensure the transfer of technical knowledge, best practices, and financial resources to the countries that need help the most. 

Since 2018, the United Nations Road Safety Fund has been playing a coordinating role among UN agencies to support governments through projects to improve land use for walking and cycling lanes, driving licensing, vehicle inspection, speed enforcement, safe school zone design and emergency post-crash response systems. 

FIA Foundation, the World Bank’s Global Road Safety Facility, the International Federation of the Red Cross, Bloomberg Philanthropies, NGOs, regional Road Safety Observatories and major government and corporate funders are among those consulted and engaged in designing and delivering these projects. 

From Armenia to Paraguay to West Africa, UNRSF now serves 30 countries with new calls for proposals to respond to country-led priorities that catalyze investments for better road safety.

How do we advocate for effective road safety financing?

Awareness-raising and advocacy of road safety financing is a game changer. The UN’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt’s, advocacy efforts helped launch the UN Road Safety Fund and raised close to $20 million dollars for related UN road safety performance reviews in Africa and capacity building projects in developing countries across the world. 

Organisations such as the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road safety are there to support and empower local groups and community-based organisations working on road safety. And at the grassroots we can replicate and take part in global advocacy initiatives such as the biennial UN Global Road Safety Week.

The week’s 2021 edition, through a Streets for Life campaign, called for 30 km/h speed limits worldwide on streets with mixed vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Or the Global Road Safety Film Festival on 21-22 February 2022, which screens short films from all over the world to help explain the challenges and solutions to improve road safety.

For the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021 – 2030, success hinges on the marriage between safe, sustainable mobility and targeted financing, which promises to bear fruit for people and the planet. Together with UN efforts, it’s time we all started doing more about it. 

Asking the right questions is the start of a positive disruption to the global road safety crisis.

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