Joel Jere and the ROSAF team meet with the newly appointed Minister of Transport and Public Works Dr Feston Kaupa and Ministry staff

Malawi’s Road Safety Alert Foundation (ROSAF) held a significant meeting yesterday with the newly appointed Minister of Transport and Public Works, Dr Feston Kaupa. It comes on the back of an exciting new World Bank investment of US$105 million for road upgrades in the country and a school road safety programme informed by iRAP.

The meeting, which marked a pivotal moment for road safety advocacy, provided a platform for ROSAF to introduce its initiatives, particularly its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with iRAP and the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MoTPW). The partnership aims to promote road safety projects and programmes to eliminate high-risk roads in the country and reduce road deaths and injuries.

Through their partnership with iRAP, ROSAF and the Ministry aim to build capacity and improve the safety of roads in Malawi to the global 3-star or better standard, with a particular emphasis on protecting vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.

Malawi’s National Road Safety Strategy 2022-2030 includes for Road Safety Audits to be completed for all new roads, and a minimum 3-Star iRAP rating to be achieved for all road users.

Mr Jere reiterated the critical role the government plays in ensuring that road safety is prioritized, and emphasized that ROSAF’s initiatives, including stakeholder advocacy, awareness campaigns, capacity building, and activities to promote the adoption of safer road infrastructure, require strong institutional backing to achieve sustainable impact.

Multi-stakeholder collaboration between government agencies, development banks, civil society organizations, and international partners like iRAP is driving forward the country’s efforts in reducing the burden of road trauma, estimated to cost the country $583.3 million per year – 4.7% of GDP.

The $105 million World Bank-funded Resilient and Strategic Transport Operational Enhancement Project in Malawi, to be implemented by MoTPW, will see road safety measures recommended by an iRAP assessment implemented on all project roads and a dedicated road safety programme for schools delivered.

In separate initiatives, twenty-three schools have already been assessed supported by the Star Rating for Schools Programme (SR4S), and ROSAF and local stakeholders have received SR4S training, informing evidence-based upgrades at the schools.

Minister Kaupa assured the meeting of his full support on any programme for road safety.

The meeting and World Bank investment project set the stage for continued road safety progress in the country, driving forward the nation’s goal to halve road deaths and injuries by 2030, aligned with Malawi’s 2030 Strategy and the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety.

According to iRAP’s Safety Insights Explorer, achieving UN Target 4 for greater than 75% of travel on 3-star or better roads for all road users in Malawi by 2030 stands to save an estimated 1,776 lives a year and 506,253 fatalities and serious injuries  over the 20-year life of road treatments with an economic benefit of USD$257.5 million – nearly $16 for every $1 spent.

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Joel Jere shares Malawi’s progress in the Decade of Action for Road Safety

Image and video credit: ROSAF