Read the article in Portuguese published on UN-Habitat Mozambique's website here.

Road traffic crashes are a major source of death and injuries in developing countries. Every day across the world, more than 500 children die due to road traffic crashes. In Mozambique, the road traffic fatality rate was 46.7 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2016, which puts the country amongst those with the highest number of road traffic deaths per capita. More than 60% of both estimated road deaths and injuries per year affect pedestrians and cyclists, one of the highest rates in the region, with children among the most affected.

In Mozambique, where 73% of the road traffic fatalities affect the economically active population, road safety is not only a health issue but also an economic issue. In 2016, deaths and road accidents costed a total of US$1,236 million to the country, that is 10.4% of the GDP.

It is with our actions that we decide whether we continue letting something preventable claim more young lives and cause irreversible damage to our people and livelihoods. Here are some proven ways we can improve road safety.

Increase investments in road safety 

 Recent studies ascertain that reducing road traffic fatalities and injuries could result in a 7 to 22% GDP per capita increment in low-and-middle-income ‎countries. Nevertheless, while most governments in developing countries are undertaking important road construction, legislative and enforcement actions to reduce the road crash toll in their countries, financial commitments of these governments and their international development partners are extremely limited. In fact, it is estimated that safeguarding countries from road crashes would require $700 million annually. However, since the United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) was established in 2018 as a global partnership, only $30 million in financial pledges have been received. 

Unprecedented global challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating climate crisis, have made resource mobilisation for road crash fatalities even more difficult. Notwithstanding, during the pandemic, higher-income countries such as the United States, Romania and Australia have announced multi-million dollar investments dedicated to road safety projects in their countries at national, municipal and local levels.

In Mozambique efforts are also being made. For example the South Korean government in 2021 invested seven million dollars to implement actions aimed at improving road safety in Maputo Metropolitan Area in four years. Nevertheless, more efforts need to be done in order to achieve a real change.

Implementing best practices for road safety

 Shining light on road crashes as the biggest killer of children and young people have yielded more pledges than action. This is evidenced by the immense gap between national and global commitments and efforts to enact those commitments. Conquering the road safety crisis will require a mix of hard and soft interventions that can reduce the frequency of crashes as well as their severity.

Countries like Denmark, Netherlands and Norway succeeded to reduce significantly child pedestrian deaths by prioritising road safety and enforcing 30km/hr speed limits in school zones. In Africa, Asia and Latin America, several countries are ensuring importation of safer and cleaner used vehicles with enforcement measures.

With the primary objective of supporting governments in their road safety efforts, the UN Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) are working together at global level to promote safe road design and infrastructure, data availability, as well as policies, strategies and plans for road safety, with particular focus on safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

 A best practice of road safety and global partnership in Mozambique

UN-Habitat and UNRSF are currently collaborating in Africa to ensure safer streets for road users through the regional project “Reclaiming streets for pedestrians and cyclists”. The project is an example of a global partnership that started in Ethiopia and is being rolled out to Guinea, Kenya, Rwanda and Mozambique, by improving road design and use and advocating for road safety policies, focusing especially on vulnerable road users such as children, pedestrians and cyclists.

In Mozambique, this project is implemented in coordination with the Ministry of Transport and Communications and municipal authorities. Multifaceted interventions have been implemented with local governments, communities and activists mainly in Maputo, Matola and Quelimane Municipalities. This includes “tactical urbanism” activities for safer street design, that are citizen-led, temporary and low-cost interventions to improve and catalyse long-term changes in neighbourhoods, as well as awareness raising activities through innovative solutions on daily road safety and mobility challenges, international debates and experience exchange events.

Through this, the project showcases how innovative approaches can boost advocacy efforts and ramp initiatives to strategically position road safety in this growing sustainable finance market.

#moments2live4 social media campaign

 The current global pace of road safety investments barely scratches the surface of these road traffic concerns, and a fragmented approach in responding to global challenges is no longer an option. More interventions and funding at the national and international levels are urgently needed to enhance proven road safety solutions – especially for the sake of our most vulnerable road users: our children. 

 For this reason, the UNRSF, in collaboration with UN-Habitat and other partners, is ramping up road safety advocacy at a global and national level through the #moments2live4 social media campaign, which this year focuses on children and the reality that they are the most vulnerable road users.