Kenya joined the rest of the world to mark the third UN Global Road Safety Week scheduled for 04 to 10 May 2015. This year, the theme for the Global Road Safety week focused on children and Road Safety. The national event was commemorated on 7th May 2015 at General Kago primary school in Thika, Kiambu County. The day was presided over by the Director general of National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) Mr Francis Meja.

Mr. Meja said that almost 3000 lives were lost on Kenyan roads in 2014 with many more injured. He said that road crashes were the leading cause of death among 15 -29 year olds. He reiterated that the songs and poems presented by the school children from the schools that had participated in the just ended Road Safety 10 project were very educative. It was important and very urgent to create road safety awareness in all schools in Kenya, he added. “Inculcating a culture of road safety amongst children is very important as they grow knowing road safety measures,” added.

NTSA was working closely with ministry of Education to include road safety within the school curriculum. He said that NTSA had been creating awareness in some schools, in community barazas and in the media. Currently, there is a bill before parliament to amend the traffic act with more focus on children and road safety, he said.

The WHO message, delivered by Dr. Nathan Bakyaita on behalf of the WHO country Representative emphasised that the theme was very timely - a child dies in every four minutes on the world’s roads. Dr. Bakyaita noted that road traffic injuries were a major but neglected public health challenge that requires concerted efforts for effective and sustainable prevention. Of all the systems with which people have to deal every day, road traffic systems are the most complex and the most dangerous, he said. He noted that in 2013, 3,218 lives were lost on Kenyan roads, with a slight reduction to 2,907 in 2014 and that about half of the fatalities were pedestrians. Dr. Bakyaita also singled out that over 376 children were lost in 2013 and 364 in 2014, making it a big loss to the nation as children are of the leaders of tomorrow!

He said that UN global road safety weeks are commemorated by governments in line with the UNGASS resolutions and that they serve as important platforms for concerted advocacy towards road safety. As milestone events on the global road safety calendar, UN global road safety weeks give added impetus to the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 and its goal: saving five million lives he said.

Dr. Bakyaita informed the nation that while no single measure adequately addresses the vast range of risks to children on the road, the ten strategies developed by WHO to address road safety are best known for keeping children safe on the roads – especially when implemented as a package. The ten strategies are:

Controlling speed;
Reducing drinking and driving;
Using helmets for bicyclists and motorcyclists;
Restraining children in vehicles;
Improving children’s ability to see and be seen;
Enhancing road infrastructure;
Adapting vehicle design;
Implementing graduated driver licensing;
Providing appropriate care for injured children; and
10. Supervising children around roads.

He congratulated the government of Kenya for putting some of these measures in place. For instance, he noted, that with support from the just ended RS 10 project implemented by WHO, local authorities in Naivasha, Nakuru County, have taken the following measures to improve safety around schools by:

Building pedestrian crossings, dedicated foot and cycle paths, and speed humps;
Reducing and enforcing speed limits of 30 km/h;
Increasing visibility through improved street lighting;
Enhancing the visibility of children by encouraging the use of reflective backpacks; and
Providing appropriate supervision by crossing guards.
Others who addressed the national event included Dr. Joseph Kibachio from ministry of Health, an officer from ministry of Education, the Deputy Traffic Commandant and the County Engineer, Engineer Kamau who said that 1.2 million people are killed on our roads annually with many more injured. He said most those killed or injured on the roads are from low and middle in-come countries where we belon. He said the theme was very timely and appropriate as most of those killed or injured on the roads are pedestrians involving children.

They all emphasized the importance of concerted efforts in order to effectively address road safety in Kenya.

Guests were entertained by children from 10 schools who gave moving songs and poems well focussed on the theme. A new zebra crossing was installed at the school with the representative of WHO Country Rep painting the 1st strokes. At the end of the celebrations, the Director General signed the board with a key message on child safety “Kill your speed not our children,” and was then handed the declaration on Child safety by the children.

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For more information, please contact:

Dr. Joyce Nato, NPO/NCD
Tel: +254 20 2717902
Cell: +254 722 278296