The Republic of Senegal officially launched “Senegal’s Ten-Step Plan for Safer Road Infrastructure” Project last Thursday in Dakar. The event, which brought together the main national and international road safety stakeholders, marks a strong commitment by the country to drastically reduce the number of crashes and deaths and injuries on its roads. 

The implementation of the Ten Step Plan will be overseen by a Steering Committee comprised of key road safety organisations in Senegal. The Committee, whose inaugural meeting was held on January 22, on the eve of the Project Kick-off Workshop, will ensure effective coordination and monitoring of progress. 

The three-year project is the result of collaboration between the Government of Senegal and national and international partners to strengthen institutional capacity and investments for safer roads in the country – with the aim of improving existing and future roads to achieve a three-star or higher safety standard for pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and vehicle occupants. 

The Ten Step Senegal Project, funded by the United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF), is a collaborative initiative involving the Government of Senegal through the Ministry of Infrastructure, Land, and Air Transport (MITTA) and National Road Agency ANASER, alongside a consortium led by the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) and including the International Road Federation (IRF), PIARC (World Road Association) and LASER International, with support from the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) and FIA Foundation. 

The World Health Organization estimates that road crashes claim more than 3,500 lives every year in Senegal, and result in over 40,000 more injuries, with a national economic burden of US $1.4 billion. National data shows road crashes are the leading cause of death among young people aged 15 to 24, and the second leading cause among 25-39 year-olds, after AIDS. 

Senegal is only the second country in the Africa to use the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC) Ten Steps approach, following its award-winning implementation in Tanzania. The Ten Step Plan framework has been produced by the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC) partners to support countries seeking to implement initiatives in relation to the “improved safety of road infrastructure and broader transport networks”, the UN Convention on Road Traffic and Road Signs and Signals, and the achievement of UN Member States agreed Global Targets 3 and 4 for safer new and existing roads.

“We are proud to see Senegal embracing the Ten Step approach which has proven to be so effective in instituting an evidence-based framework for action that saves lives,” commented Susanna Zammataro, Director General at the International Road Federation (IRF). “The sector has the tools to design and build safer roads, but these must be more widely known and implemented. It is about making meaningful decisions that will save thousands of lives,” she added.