Road Safety
Road traffic crashes kill 1.19 million people every year (Source: World Health Organisation 2023). In sub-Saharan Africa, road deaths are the third biggest killer following HIV/AIDS and Malaria (Source: The World Bank), and the problem will only rise with the growing population. Drivers are at risk every time they sit behind the wheel due to a lack of legal enforcement and training, as well as badly maintained and overloaded vehicles.
2021 to 2030 is the United Nation’s (UN) Second Decade of Action for Road Safety. By 2030, the UN has set itself an ambitious target to prevent at least 50 percent of road traffic deaths and injuries.
What we do
- We support drivers, governments, and training institutions to improve road safety.
- We transform driver training. We work with partners and governments to train driver trainers. Our driver training programmes make drivers more competent, vehicles safer, and reduce death and injury on the road.
- We transform standards and systems. We work with governments and other organisations to create and promote far-reaching improvements in driving standards, including curriculum development. We also work on transport management systems, joining with partners to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve the management and maintenance of fleets of vehicles.
Our Impact
- In 2008, we partnered with the Industrial Training Centre (ITC) in Zambia, which has proven to be an invaluable resource for improving driving standards and road safety.
- From April 2022 to March 2023 alone, the ITC in Zambia trained 1,976 drivers, including HGV, PSV and forklift truck drivers – a 27 percent increase on the previous year.
- In 2010, Transaid partnered with the National Institute of Transport (NIT) in Tanzania, where drivers have received HGV, PSV and CPC training. On numerous occasions training has been delivered by a professional volunteer working on behalf of Transaid. View a short video here on our impact in Tanzania.
- From April 2022 to March 2023, the NIT in Tanzania trained 3,622 drivers, including HGV, PSV and forklift truck drivers – an 11 percent increase on the previous year.
- Phase Two of the Professional Driver Training – Uganda (PDTU-2) project saw 353 people trained, including 41 female drivers, between April 2022 to March 2023 at Transaid’s partner school – the Safe Way Right Way Driver Training Centre.
- In 2021, we launched a new road safety programme in Ghana, which follows our proven Train the Trainer model to build local skills to ensure sustainable and lasting change, and between April 2022 and March 2023, these trainers trained over 592 drivers.
View a short video below on our impact in sub-Saharan Africa from April 2022 – March 2023: