Professional Driver Training – Uganda project: Leveraging the private sector’s support in reducing road traffic fatalities and saving lives in Uganda

Based on data gathered in 2016, the World Health Organisation’s Global Status Report on Road Safety (2018) reported an estimated 1.35 million deaths on our roads, with a significant number of people also suffering injury and/or disability. As we move into the UN’s second Decade of Action against Road Safety (2021-2030), these figures continue to present a significant burden for public health services in low income countries where the majority of fatalities and injuries occur.

In Uganda, the WHO (2018) estimated that over 12,000 lives are lost as a result of road traffic incidents annually and, taking into account the intra- and inter-regional carriage of goods and people (road transport accounts for over 95% of cargo freight and passenger movement in Uganda), the transport industry has a key role to play in reducing casualty rates in countries like Uganda.

The effective management of road safety offers efficiencies to the transport sector, which is already a key driver of economic growth through facilitating domestic and international trade as well as contributing to national integration and providing access to essential services such as education, employment and healthcare. Therefore there is every incentive for private and public sector transporters to invest in addressing this global health crisis.

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