A new road safety conference is being planned in Morocco. This event is intended to help address poor road safety across Africa as a whole, in a bid to cut the shockingly high casualty rate. The event is being organised by the Moroccan National Committee for Prevention of Road Accidents.
The African continent has a high risk of death for road crashes for vulnerable users. Pedestrians and cyclists represent 43% of Africa’s road victims. On a global level, vulnerable road users account for an average of 26% of road casualties. The organisation of this continental forum under the theme “Road safety in Africa: Sustainable Development Issue”. This will be held in Marrakech between November 13th and November 15th 2018.
According to the organisers, the conference is being held in recognition of the fact that Africa presents enormous possibilities to improve road safety, save more lives and maximise potential for economic development. This event is intended to be a platform for exchanging expertise and good practices in the region by capitalising on the socio-economic and cultural similarities between African countries and the achievements of African governments, NGOs and corporations in road safety to date. It will also see the launch of the Africa Road Safety Observatory, announced earlier this year.
The conference organisers hope to establish an African framework for reflection on road safety in Africa. They also intend to promote ownership of road safety in Africa to achieve the goals of the 2011-2020 Decade of Action. A key target will be to bring together government institutions and organisations, experts, economic actors, public and private companies, NGOs from the African continent working for road safety. Attendees will be able to share experiences and good practices on road safety in the African continent and the event will also promote cooperation between African countries in the field of road safety. The organisers hope to develop exchanges and relations between African economic operators in the field of Road Safety and also to encourage investment in the various sectors related to road safety. Another aim is to promote the integration of new technologies into the management and management of road safety in Africa, while the event will assist in pooling and capitalising on NGO experiences to serve as a relay for anchoring values in societies in Africa. Attendees will be able to study mechanisms for setting up and implementing an African road safety observatory.
