iRAP partner impact in Africa

The Road Assessment Programme (RAP) is working with local partners to help not only save lives on African roads, but also promote healthy and sustainable forms of mobility such as walking and cycling, including through the use of Star Rating for Schools and Star Rating for Designs for safer school journeys and road designs.

Achieving Target 4 by 2030 in Africa stands to save over 98,000 lives a year and 56 million deaths and serious injuries over 20 years, with an economic benefit of US$52.4 billion.

Latest news from Africa

Interview with Sabri Hamza: A Passionate Advocate for Road Safety (and iRAP volunteer!)

We were fortunate to have Sabri Hamza join us as a volunteer intern at iRAP recently. It was a pleasure to have Sabri as part of the #RAPTeam and very much appreciate his contribution, in particular to the Training and Accreditation activities. We asked Sabri to share...

iRAP partnerships for safer roads in Mozambique

iRAP partnerships are supporting safer roads and infrastructure investment in Mozambique, with a road safety assessment completed for the Mozambique National Roads Administration (ANE) supported by iRAP and FRED Engineering, and a specialist training workshop...

UNECA 2030 Strategy for Africa includes iRAP for safer roads

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) 2021-2030 Strategic Directions for Road Safety and African Road Safety Action Plan specifies clear targets and actions for achieving safer road infrastructure based on the iRAP methodology. Despite efforts at...

Africa Road Safety Seminar 2024: A Resounding Success

The Africa Road Safety Seminar 2024, held on October 8-9 in Nairobi, Kenya, was a resounding success, bringing together over 200 attendees from across the African continent and featuring more than 40 local and international experts. The event was a platform for rich...

iRAP MCC Partnership targets safer roads in Benin

Image credit: Event Photographer - MCA-Benin An iRAP Workshop supported by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), concluded recently in Cotonou, Benin. The workshop aimed to build local capacity within the Government of Benin and optimize road safety in the...

Meet Tendai Belindah Lisenda: A Catalyst for Change in Botswana’s School Zones

Meet Tendai Belindah Lisenda (Belindah), a passionate road safety advocate, making a significant impact on the safety of children in Botswana. As the Road Safety Coordinator for the Letlhakeng District Road Safety Committee, she is committed to reducing road crashes...

MCC partnership drives road safety in Malawi

Road infrastructure safety is being lifted in Malawi thanks to a ground-breaking $350 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact and five-day iRAP capacity building initiative completed last week with local partners. Malawi’s nearly 5,000 kilometres of...

Tanzania’s new 3-year Road Safety Plan launched with iRAP for safer roads

Vice-President Hon. Dr. Philip Mpango launched Tanzania’s new 3-year Road Safety Plan on Monday including the iRAP Methodology and integration of improved road design and inspection systems with iRAP Certification to improve the safety of the country’s roads. The...

Transafe Peer Exchange for Safer Riders in Africa

We were delighted to share iRAP insights on motorcyclist safety in Africa at last week's Transafe Peer-to-Peer Exchange Workshop, led by ICLEI Africa. Motorcyclist road safety is a significant problem in Africa. Motorcycles have a significant and growing share of the...

Kenyan highways assessment to start soon

Cliff Oketch Onyango will lead the ITEC project ITEC Engineering Kenya is preparing for an iRAP survey along four corridors managed by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), supporting implementation of the country's National Road Safety Plan. The 600km...

Projects driving road safety success and innovation

Showcasing a selecting of major projects that have occurred or are still active in Africa over time. Led by various partners in Africa.

Logo	Description	More information
	2023 - Jointly funded by the United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (UKAid), through the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) of the World Bank, the 30-month Tanzania Ten Step Plan pilot project has built sustainable institutional capacity for safer roads, as well as impact and partnerships to save lives and reduce serious injuries resulting from road crashes.	Click here for more information
	2022- TanRAP, the Tanzanian Road Assessment Programme, was launched in Dar es Salaam to eliminate high-risk roads and curb the more than 16,000 people who die on the country’s roads annually. Through TanRAP, the Ten Step Project will grow the length of existing roads and designs assessed to more than 10,000 km by March 2023 building on the more than USD$1 billion of road infrastructure investment already made safer through iRAP assessments.	Click here for more information
	2024- SARAP programme activity has assessed 42,751 km of roads and designs, and 81 schools. Two significant road safety projects funded by Anglo American Foundation have begun in Limpopo Province, South Africa involving local capacity building and the assessment of 1,000km of roads and 20 high-risk schools to inform evidence-based safety improvements.	Click here for more information
	2024- Plans are being supported for a locally led SenegalRAP as part of a UN Road Safety Fund-supported Ten Step Plan Project. Partner-led iRAP activity has assessed 476 km of roads and designs, and 1 school, influencing the safety of US$171 million of road infrastructure investment so far.	Click here for more information
	2024 - Under the FIA Road Safety Grant Programme, the Federation of Motorsports (FMU), together with its partners (including the FIA), have begun implementing a Safe School Zones assessment Road Safety Programme to combat these road safety challenges in the Wakiso District, Kampala Metropolitan of Uganda. The programme, which utilizes the Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) tool, aims to achieve safer routes to schools through a holistic approach of assessing school infrastructure, teaching road accessibility and crossing skills to children, and providing safety education to two-wheeler users (Boda-bodas).	Click here for more information
	2024 - The Automobile Association (AA) and ChildSafe South Africa, supported by the FIA Foundation and its Child Health Initiative (CHI), has taken a significant step towards improving road safety in Mamelodi, Tshwane through the launch of Project WATCH to upgrade road safety around ten schools. The Walking Safely to School (WATCH) project will be implemented from April 2024 to March 2026 and aims to improve road infrastructure and promote road safety around the schools with modifications to signs, traffic markings, speed humps, raised pedestrian crossings, and sidewalks around the school zones. Supported by Star Rating for Schools (SR4S), ChildSafe will conduct star rating assessments of the infrastructure modifications and providing road safety education.	Click here for more information
	2024 – The 2022 Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety Local Actions Winner, Zimbabwe youth advocate Tendekayi Marapara and his peers initiated the “Safer School Zones Zimbabwe” project targeting Glen View 8 Primary School in Harare, Zimbabwe. The objectives of the project, which include: advocating for reduced speed limits around school zones; forming road safety coalitions involving youth participation; and ensuring improved road infrastructure for schools like Glen View 8 Primary School using SR4S assessment results, represent critical strides toward fostering safer environments for children commuting to school.	Click here for more information
	2023 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, and the UN Road Safety Fund joined forces to tackle road safety challenges around schools in Lusaka. Their focus is on infrastructure improvements in high-risk areas, using the Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) app to assess and quantify the risks children face. Six schools in densely populated areas of Lusaka were chosen for the initial phase. The project implemented various measures to enhance safety including; safe pedestrian crossings, speed reduction measures and awareness campaigns, which saw the star ratings all have a significant increase for each school.	Click here for more information

Where we work

Download a summary of iRAP partner activity in every Africa country here.

Policies into practice

Many countries are prioritising the safety of their road infrastructure by embedding 3-star or better safety targets in policy, aligned to UN Global Road Safety Performance Targets 3 and 4. A number of African countries have National Road Safety Strategies and Action Plans that include 3-star or better targets for safe road infrastructure.

Gambia: 2020−2030 Gambia Road Safety Strategy – National highway network to achieve 3-star or better performance standard.
Kenya: 2024−2028 Kenya National Road Safety Action Plan – iRAP assessments to be undertaken of Class A, B and C paved roads, and major urban road networks in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, and Nakuru, to identify high-risk road sections. Safer Road Investment Plans to be developed to prioritise evidence-based safety improvements and national capacity building to include a focus on the iRAP methodology and tools.
Malawi: 2022−2030 Malawi National Road Safety Strategy – Road Safety Audit to be completed for all new roads, and include iRAP Star Rating. Minimum 3-star to be achieved for all road users.
Tanzania: 2024/5−2026/7 Tanzania National Road Safety Plan – iRAP methodology to be used and improved road design guidelines and road inspection systems to be integrated with iRAP certification.
Uganda: 2021−2026 Uganda National Action Plan – Enforce mandatory road safety audits from feasibility to detailed design and during construction using independent and accredited experts to ensure a minimum standard of 3-star rating or better for all road users. Certificate of Road Safety Compliance should be mandated for all road designs.

To view these policies, other global examples and sample infrastructure targets for inclusion, visit irap.org/policies-into-practice

How safe are Africa’s roads and the Business Case for Safer Roads

The iRAP Safety Insights Explorer shines a light on the true scale of road crashes, the safety of the world’s roads, and the positive impact that can be made with investment.