By Ben Atonko, Marrakech, Morocco
Ministers of transport, together with road safety stakeholders, met in Marrakech, the Kingdom of Morocco, to extract commitment to safe roads and a better environment. After Stockholm, the Arabian city is trailblazing…
Nigeria’s Minister of Transport, Sa’idu Alkali, the Corp Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed, and the founder of the Kwapda’as Road Safety Demand (KRSD), Hon Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem represented Nigeria at the global event.
The Fourth Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, which took place from Feb. 18-20 in Marrakech, is the biggest gathering on road safety.
The conference’s theme was “The Future of Road Safety: Climate Change, Sustainable Transport, and Emerging Mobility Trends,” the slogan was “Commit to Life.” The recurring subject matter was how to halve road crashes by 2030.
The conference was a platform to accelerate action to improve road safety by implementing the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. Lessons learned on strategies to improve road safety were shared, and country commitments were revitalized.
According to the UN, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development commits to halving road traffic deaths and injuries. However, at the halfway point in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), road traffic crashes still claim the lives of 1.2 million people every year and remain the leading cause of death.
At the close of the event, organizers said they hosted 5,000 guests from over 100 countries. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the government of the Kingdom of Morocco jointly hosted the event. Delegates were at the conference, including ministers, senior officials from the United Nations agencies, representatives from civil societies, academia, and the private sector.
Nigeria Wins 2 Awards
One of the most intriguing events at the close of the conference was the honors done to organizations that have been outstanding in road safety work. Members of the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety won awards for their advocacy and action in their countries.
Nigeria’s Kwapda’as Road Safety Demand (KRSD) received the Best Film for Local Communication award in the Global Road Safety Film Festival for a short video depicting the dire situation on Nigerian roads and a call for safe road use. In recognition of its grueling work, the NGO also won the Internet Users’ Prize with online voting.
KRSD, founded in memory of Prince Kwapda’as Rangna’an Samson Dongban, who was killed by an unknown motorist in 2011, is an NGO that works towards tackling the road traffic crisis in Nigeria. The global conference honored the organization for its unwavering and unparalleled road safety work. As a body committed to the UN Decade of Action and zero deaths and injuries from road crashes, KRSD seeks safety technologies/measures to entrench safer roads.
Elated by the honours, the founder expressed gratitude and urged African countries to step up the road safety campaign. She said the coming of the conference to Africa is a commitment to tackle road crashes, stressing that governments and business leaders have shared knowledge and have decided to take responsibility in their jurisdictions.
Hon. Justice Dongban-Mensem praised Marrakech for promoting both motorized and nonmotorized transport systems to enhance safety. Apart from automobiles that carry passengers, commuters can take four-wheeled horse-drawn carriages. Of this, horses have blended well into the transport system.
She described the ingenuity of making the horse-drawn vehicles function as taxicabs as superb. She should be emulated by mayors across the world as this can significantly reduce crashes and deaths on the roads and keep city pollution in check.
“I’m very impressed by the use of animals here – effectively modernizing an age-long mode of transport and mixing it with the modern one. Horses are used for public transport on modern roads, and you wouldn’t see a dung drop from the animals.
“Moreover, the roads are wide, and pedestrian paths are well paved and neatly kept. Throughout my stay, I didn’t see a shell, piece of paper, or polythene material strewn around. Marrakech deserves our acclamation,” Hon. Justice Dongban-Mensem expressed.
She said the Marrakech meeting marked Morocco’s position as the first African country to host the global gathering. She, therefore, urged the Nigerian government to toe the line of Morocco, bid, and host the conference.
The Executive Director of the Global Alliance of Road Safety NGOs, Lotte Brondum, also expressed happiness with the conference’s success.
She called for producing quality helmets, saying, “No more counterfeit helmets.” She urged a speed reduction, stressing that “Road deaths are preventable. Crashes are failures. There must be accountability…We must be accountable and build trust.”
She said ministers have the power to find solutions – so they must effect lower speeds and ensure quality helmets are in use. She said, “Slow speeds [30 km/hour] are no magic. They are doable.”
African ministers’ call
Ministers of Transport in Africa insisted that roads must be improved upon. They expressed the need to embrace innovative ideas, and Africa must be united in purpose and action. They beckoned to African countries that have not signed the African Charter on Road Safety to do so. Only 26 out of 53 countries have signed and ratified the charter at the time.
They noted that road safety should be a daily concern to Africans because urbanization has led to the high use of motorcycles. Users hardly wear helmets, and the carrying capacity of the vehicles is overstretched.
They suggested that African governments should take development to the people rather than people chasing developments that are concentrated in some places.
The ministers sought attention around schools, hospitals, worship places, shopping malls, etc, as safe zones.
UN’s lamentation
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, who addressed the conference virtually, noted that it is time to tackle the world’s problems. He expressed surprise that many people die on the road daily in this age of space exploration.
“Fifty million people have died on the road. Every year, 1.2 million die, much more than the flu and world wars,” he stated.
He urged participants to interrogate road safety narratives in local realities, saying the clear call to action must present the intended results.
According to Guterres, midway to the end of the Decade of Action, there is still a vast difference between promises made and the realities on the road.
He said 45 countries have managed to reduce deaths by 30 percent, so bringing them down by 50 percent is possible, suggesting that the Safe System Approach can be helpful.
The Secretary-General advised participants that the youth, as a driving force in advocacy and action, should be involved in road safety, maintaining that putting road safety in front can enhance climate sustainability.
Guterres advocated traditional methods like seatbelt use, improved transport technology, and rules enforcement, which are still essential.
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, stressed, “Governments have a role to play, but individual responsibility is equally crucial. Daily actions make the difference in road safety, such as wearing helmets, using seatbelts, and avoiding drunk driving.”
Exhibition, film show
An exhibition pavilion enabled road safety NGOs and companies to exhibit their tools and souvenirs. TotalEnergies Foundation, TTH Company, and others are prominently featured there.
Some of the entries in the film contest were screened. Host countries Morocco, Angola, and Nigeria were African countries whose films were shown. Entries were judged based on their impact, subject matter, and other considerations espoused by the jury.
At the close of the event, many described the meeting as vibrant, saying never before had there been such a gathering and commitment to road safety.
The world, they said, is at the crossroads of change – road mobility must be safe, affordable, and available. Road safety must become a norm, they insist.
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