Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – 15 July 2025 – The African Road Safety Observatory (ARSO) Secretariat successfully hosted its inaugural webinar on Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) on 14 July 2025, marking a significant step toward advancing the continent’s road safety goals under the Second Decade of African Action Plan for Road Safety (2021–2030).
The two-hour virtual event, a collaboration between African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Global Road Safety Observatories (GRSOs), brought together national road safety coordinators, policymakers, lead agency heads, and technical experts from across Africa and beyond.
The webinar, themed around the effective use of SPIs for evidence-based policymaking, underscored their critical role in monitoring progress and shaping national road safety strategies. It aligned with the African Road Safety Action Plan (2021-2030) and the objectives of the African Road Safety Charter, focusing on improving data systems and proactive risk management to address the high road traffic fatality rates in Africa.
Key Highlights from the Webinar
The event opened with remarks from distinguished representatives, including Head of the Transport and Mobility Division, Mr. Eric Ntagengerwa, speaking on behalf of Dr. Kamugisha Kazaura (Director of Infrastructure and Energy, AUC); Mr. Marco Yamaguchi (Manager, Transport and Logistics Division, AfDB); Mr. Aconkpanle Placide Colombe on behalf of Mr. Robert Lisinge (Director, TICID, UNECA); and Mr. Bennacer Boulaajoul (Director General, NARSA, and Chair of the ARSO Transitional Steering Committee). They highlighted the importance of SPIs in driving data-informed policies to reduce road traffic injuries and fatalities across Africa.
Yonas Bekele from the ARSO Secretariat outlined the role of SPIs within the African Road Safety Action Plan and ARSO’s Work Programme (2025-2030), emphasizing their value in tracking progress and identifying priority areas. Wouter Van den Berghe, also from ARSO, provided insights into the design and purpose of SPIs, offering practical guidance on developing meaningful and feasible indicators.
A key session featured lessons from global and regional road safety observatories, with contributions from Ranai Abdelhamid (WHO-EMRO), Goran Temovski (WBRO), Emma McLennan (ERPSO), Richard Owen (APRSO), Wouter Van den Berghe (ERPSO), and Umaru Sesay (Africa CDC). They shared international and regional best practices on SPIs and their relevance to Africa’s unique road safety challenges.
The webinar also showcased good practices from African Union Member States, with senior officials sharing successful examples of integrating SPIs into national road safety frameworks. Case studies from Ethiopia (RSIFs), Nigeria (FRSC), and Morocco (NARSA) demonstrated practical approaches to deploying SPIs to analyze the causes of crashes and track progress over time. These efforts enable process-oriented interventions that address a range of road safety challenges and help reduce the risk of death or serious injury for road users, inspiring mutual learning and continental alignment.
Fostering Collaboration and Capacity Building
The event facilitated robust discussions among participants, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange on the importance of using SPIs to complement traditional road safety statistics and current road safety strategies for a more comprehensive understanding of road safety. It laid the groundwork for future ARSO initiatives to identify and prioritize transport policy areas and to support the adoption of tailored indicators across African countries. The outcomes of the webinar are expected to inform capacity-building activities and enhance cooperation in road safety data systems, helping assess the effectiveness of policies and make necessary adjustments.
About ARSO
Operational since January 2025, the ARSO Secretariat assists AU Member States in gathering, analyzing, and using road safety data to develop evidence-based policies. This webinar is the first in a series planned for 2025 to advance the African Road Safety Action Plan and promote safer roads across the continent.
For More Information
Contact the ARSO Secretariat Head, David Niyonsenga, at niyonsengad@AfricanUnion.org.
For Media Inquiries:
Bezayit Eyoel| Information Analyst| Department of Infrastructure and Energy| African Union Commission| E-mail: BezayitE@africa-union.org|
Mr. Gamal Eldin Ahmed A. Karrar | Senior Communication Officer | Information and Communication Directorate (ICD), African Union Commission | E-mail: GamalK@africa-union.org
