Ghana to host first-ever Kofi Annan Road Safety Award
14 March 2022
Leaving no one behind on the road is at the heart of the first Kofi Annan Road Safety Award, launching 16 March 2022 in Accra, Ghana, by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Secretariat of the United-Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Road Safety, and the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Ghana, with the support of the Kofi Annan Foundation.
The primary objective of the Kofi Annan Road Safety Award is to motivate key stakeholders – governments, private sector, and civil society organisations – to develop and implement innovative and outstanding initiatives to save lives on Africa's roads.
When it comes to road accidents, Africa pays the heaviest price with the world's highest fatality rate of 26.6 road deaths per 100,000 population compared to the world average of 17.5 per 100,000 and 9.3 per 100,000 in Europe (WHO).
A child in Africa is twice as likely to die on the road than a child in any other part of the world. It is, therefore, crucial to redouble efforts on the African continent. The UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Road Safety, Mr. Jean Todt, proclaims that "Increasing effective actions to stop the carnage on African roads is imperative if we are to achieve the new Decade of Action for Road Safety, aiming to halve the road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030. It is arguably the most affected region on the planet."
Ghana is among the countries that report a high prevalence of road traffic deaths, with 24.9 per 100,000 inhabitants (WHO 2016). Nearly 2,000 lives are lost in the country each year due to crashes - and pedestrians are particularly at risk. Read More.
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