1. Project Introduction — Background & Problem Statement

1.1 Background

Road traffic injuries remain a major public health and development challenge globally, with 92% of deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Africa, despite having only about 4% of the world's registered vehicles, records one of the highest road traffic fatality rates globally — estimated at 19 deaths per 100,000 population. (WHO, 2023) A significant and rapidly growing share of these deaths involves powered two- and three-wheelers (PTWs), whose fatalities have increased by nearly 100% over the past decade — a crisis that is accelerating fastest in West and Central Africa.

Recent WHO and SSATP reports confirm that Africa is the only continent where road traffic deaths have continued to rise over the last 20 years. Progress in managing key risk factors — speeding, drink-driving, helmet use, seatbelts, and child restraints — remains slow. Governments and regional institutions increasingly recognize that weak crash data systems and limited use of safety performance indicators (SPIs) are central barriers preventing effective, evidence-based road safety action.

1.2 Problem Statement

Across Africa — including Guinea, Liberia, and Togo — crash data systems are characterized by non-harmonized definitions, inconsistent methodologies, and severe underreporting. Many countries rely solely on police data, rarely integrating health or insurance records, while definitions of fatalities and serious injuries often do not align with international standards.

• The ratio of estimated to reported fatalities remains high — with a significant proportion of PTW crashes and injuries going unrecorded entirely
• Critical disaggregated data on PTW riders — including helmet use, crash causation, injury severity, and corridor risk — is missing or unreliable across all three participating countries
• No harmonized crash data definitions or collection methodologies exist across participating countries, making cross-country comparison and regional action impossible
• Safety Performance Indicators aligned with the UN's 12 voluntary global road safety targets are not operationalized in any of the three countries — leaving governments unable to systematically track progress toward the 2030 road safety agenda
• PTW riders — including motorcycle taxi operators, tricycle drivers, and commuter motorcyclists — operate in environments with minimal formal safety governance, limited crash data capture, and almost no targeted evidence-based interventions
• Road safety strategies remain reactive rather than preventive — driven by incidents rather than evidence — limiting Africa's capacity to reduce fatalities in a sustained manner

Africa cannot reduce what it does not measure. And it cannot measure what it does not define, collect, or report consistently. Harmonized crash data and operational SPIs are not technical niceties — they are the foundation of every effective road safety action.

2. Project Objectives

2.1 Overall Objective

To contribute to a substantial reduction in road traffic fatalities and serious injuries in Africa by strengthening road safety management through harmonized crash data systems, operational Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs), and evidence-based interventions — with a specific focus on powered two- and three-wheelers (PTWs) in Liberia, Guinea, and Togo.

2.2 Specific Objectives

1. Harmonize crash data definitions, collection methodologies, and reporting systems in line with WHO and UN standards across Liberia, Guinea, and Togo — enabling comparable, reliable, and disaggregated crash data production.
2. Operationalize the use of Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) to monitor progress toward the 12 voluntary UN road safety targets in all three participating countries.
3. Strengthen national and regional capacities for crash data collection, analysis, and use in evidence-based road safety planning — through training, institutional development, and inter-agency data integration.
4. Develop and disseminate practical, data-driven case studies and guidance on improving PTW safety — covering helmet use, speed management, crash causation, PTW-specific infrastructure, and enforcement.
5. Promote regional and continental learning through structured dissemination via African road safety networks — including AARSA, SSATP, and other continental platforms.
6. Contribute African-led evidence to global road safety discourse — informing the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 and the 12 voluntary global targets with data from the continent most affected.

3. Project Approach & Methodology

The PTTW project adopts a regional, systems-based, and evidence-led approach — combining diagnostic assessments, institutional capacity building, practical PTW safety applications, and structured continental dissemination. The methodology is implemented across four sequential phases:

The 12 Voluntary UN Global Road Safety Targets

The PTTW project operationalizes SPIs aligned with all 12 voluntary global road safety targets of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030:

Key Interventions

4. Project Organization & Staffing

Lead Implementing Organization: Road Safety Action International (RSAI) — Liberia

The PTTW project is implemented through a multi-partner consortium bringing together technical expertise, institutional authority, and regional reach:

5. Project Schedule

Project Duration: February 2026 – January 2028 (24 months)

The project is implemented across four sequential 6-month phases:

6. Budget

Total Budget Requested (UNRSF): USD 500,000

7. Project Log Frame — Outputs, Outcomes & Impact

8. Conclusion

Partner With Us

We welcome partnerships with institutions committed to data-driven road safety for PTW riders and all road users across Africa:

Together, we can build the data infrastructure Africa needs to measure its road safety crisis accurately — and act on it decisively, starting with the riders most at risk.