RAP in Africa

iRAP Partner Impact in Africa

iRAP 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.

Download the iRAP in Africa brochure Case studies of success from Africa and worldwide

Strategic Projects Driving Road Safety Data 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.

	2025 – the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and iRAP signed a license agreement officially launching NigeriaRAP, the country’s first national Road Assessment Programme. The next phase will see FRSC and the team from Kwapda’s Road Safety Demand (KRSD) establish a NigeriaRAP Steering Committee, expand SR4S based on six schools already assessed, and initiate training on Safer Road Engineering (SRE) and SR4S before commencing ground activities.	Click here for more information
	2025 – iRAP, the National Road Safety Agency (ANASER and the Steering Committee of the Ten Steps Senegal Project announced the launch of SnRAP in Dakar, the Senegal Road Assessment Programme to eliminate high-risk roads. The SnRAP programme will be led by ANASER, supported by iRAP and members of the Ten Step Plan Project steering committee, all working together to guide its development.	Click here for 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 – 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

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.

Eswatini: 2023-2030 National Road Safety Strategy – iRAP study to be conducted on major rural and urban roads; highway network and >75% of travel on main roads to achieve a 3-star or better safety rating by 2030.
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.
Limpopo, South Africa: Specify a star rating target for all designs for each road user; Undertake iRAP assessments using accredited experts to ensure a minimum three stars or better for all road users; Prioritise implementation of top 10 countermeasures identified in iRAP star rating process.
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.
Uganda: Guide for Establishment of Safe Schools Zones – Steps for designing new and upgrading existing school zones include assessments using methods such as iRAP Star Rating for Schools.
UNECA/ Africa: Strategic Directions for Post Decade of Action 2011-2020 and African Road Safety Plan 2021-2030 – Mandatory risk assessment of road infrastructure using independent and accredited experts to ensure a minimum standard of three stars of better for all road users; specify a star rating target for designs.

Download a summary of iRAP partner activity in every African country here Click here to view these policies, other global examples and sample infrastructure targets for inclusion

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.