The Kofi Annan Road Safety Award honors outstanding contributions in reducing African road fatalities and injuries. The award seeks to inspire governments, private sectors, civil society organizations, and individuals to develop and implement life-saving initiatives for safer roads across Africa.
The Challenge
Road crashes in Africa are a major concern, leading to a high number of fatalities compared to other regions.
Despite having the lowest levels of motorization globally, the continent loses over 300,000 lives annually. Africa has the highest estimated road traffic fatality rate of 26.6 deaths per 100,000 population, much higher than the global average of 17.5.
If Africa continues to improve its roads without implementing proper road safety measures, it is expected that the number of crashes will increase. This has significant financial consequences because the continent could lose its investment in road infrastructure due to the high cost of crashes, estimated to be 1-2% of countries’ GDP.
In some countries like Uganda, this cost may even reach 5%. On the other hand, improving road safety can lead to substantial savings, which could help close Africa’s infrastructure financing gap. This financing gap is estimated to be between $137 billion and $177 billion per year.
The primary objective of the Kofi Annan Road Safety Award is to motivate key stakeholders – governments, the private sector, and civil society organizations – to develop and implement innovative and outstanding ideas/initiatives to save lives on Africa’s roads.
About the Kofi Annan Road Safety Award
Launched in response to Africa’s alarming road safety crisis, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), alongside the United Nations Special Envoy for Road Safety and Kofi Annan Foundation, initiated the Kofi Annan Road Safety Award in 2022.
The annual award recognizes and motivates innovative solutions to save lives and is a tribute to the late Kofi Annan, who advocated for road safety.
The second edition of the Kofi Annan Road Safety Award was held in September 2023, with the country of Morocco as the designated host.
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