TANZANIA is among 12 countries that will benefit from the over 9bn/- (USD 4 million) worth projects under the UN Road Safety Fund.
The UN Road Safety Fund unveiled here on Wednesday plans for ten new projects that will target key gaps in the road safety systems of 12 countries across the globe.
The announcement was made by the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Mr. Jean Todt, on the opening day of the 3rd Global Conference on Road Safety in Stockholm.
The projects, he said, will scale the Fund’s geographical and programmatic footprint in the coming months. Tanzania has been allocated USD 480,000 (about 1,106,438,042/-) to implement Ten Step Plan for Safer Road Infrastructure project.
The proj ect’s duration is 24 months. Other countries and the amount allocated for each of them in brackets are Uganda (USD 570,000), Zambia (USD 450,000), Lao People’s Democratic Republic (USD 570,000) and Brazil (USD 321,000).
The list also includes Azerbaijan (USD 500,000), Argentina (USD 300,000), Tunisia (USD 317,284), Jordan (USD 267,550).
Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire and DRC, meanwhile, are a basket that also includes Uganda and Tunisia allocated with USD 500,000 for the ‘Safer and Cleaner Used Vehicles for Africa’ project.
Mr. Todt revealed that when the Fund launched the 2019 Call for Proposals, the Advisory Board had one clear priority – projects must demonstrate a chain of results leading to tangible impact on the number of fatalities and injuries on the road.
“I am convinced that these selected projects will accelerate progress in this direction, “ Mr. Todt stated.
He said the projects were being launched at a time when the need for action had never felt stronger.
“Globally, almost 1.35 million people die on the roads each year, and an additional 50 million are injured. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years. Unfortunately, the scale of this challenge has not received the attention that it has deserved and the funds for road safety have not kept pace with the demand,” stated Mr Todt.
The Secretary General’s special envoy for Road Safety said the dire need for financial assistance was reflected in the funds available for the UN Road Safety Fund’s 2019 Call for Proposals.
“A total of 73 projects requesting support for 52 countries were submitted. USD 62.5 million would be needed to finance all these projects,” he revealed.
With limited financing available, the Fund’s Steering Committee made a concerted effort to direct resources where they would be most needed, noted Mr Todt.
“It is for this reason that 50 per cent of the funds went to five projects in seven countries in Africa, where road traffic death rates are highest (26.6/100,000 people),” the UN envoy said.
He was optimistic that the ten projects will build on concrete action that is already taking place at the country-level through the Fund’s five pilot projects that were launched in 2019.
Established in April 2018, the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund aims to contribute to two major outcomes, including assisting UN member states to substantially curb the number of fatalities and injuries from road traffic crashes.
