In Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean Region, priority is still given to car-oriented transport policies, which exacerbates the situation of road safety as one of the biggest public health and safety challenges. However, “the lack of specialist knowledge of creating safer roads, vehicles and road user behaviour, and designing and operating well-functioning post-crash systems is a major barrier in many countries. Further, many countries and cities lack expertise in adapting Safe System principles to local conditions” (Global Plan 2021-2030).

To address this issue and promote road safety in Africa and Eastern Mediterranean Region, a project on ‘The Alliance of Cities for Road Safety (ACROS) - A one-stop-shop for cities to save lives was approved by the Steering Committee of UNRSF in August 2022. The new project recognizes the responsibilities of cities to prioritize active mobility, upgrade public transport, introduce cleaner and safer technology, and build public support for road safety. And there is a great thirst from cities to exchange lessons learnt.

On 10 October 2022, UNRSF Secretariat arranged an online information session for the participating organizations and implementing partners, including UNHABITAT, UNESCWA, UNEP, UNECA, TDP and local NGOs. By establishing the Alliance of Cities for Road Safety (ACRoS), the project strives to build the capacity of cities to improve road safety management in Africa and Eastern Mediterranean Region.

 Learn more about our upcoming information sessions here: Call for Proposals 2022 | UNRSF.