WHO sends 8 officers for training on Road Safety Audit
MBABANE - The World Health Organisation (WHO) has supported the training of eight officers from different sectors on Road Safety Auditing.
The officers from the Ministry of Health - Emergency Response Unit, Eswatini Police Service and Eswatini Road Safety Council, attended a training at the South African Road Federation (SARF) early this year. They were awarded certificates by the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Thulani Mkhaliphi, yesterday, after a month-long of assignments and other activities, which they had to complete.
For their final assessment, the team had to produce a road safety appraisal on an existing road by looking at potential safety shortfalls and making recommendations.
Daytime
These visits had to take place during daytime and night-time, under different weather conditions.
Speaking on behalf of the participants, Senior Paramedics Officer Sandile Gama appreciated the opportunity given to them by WHO to attend the training, and further urged the ministry to engage them before the construction of all new roads, going forward.
The PS commended WHO for being a partner in this activity and added that the SARF was one of the most accredited federations worldwide for road safety capacity.
Approach
He mentioned that the multisector approach was needed to ensure safety on the roads, further commending the composition of the team. He urged the team to start working and producing reports that would inform the allocation of resources in terms of roads maintenance.
“We really need to look into some of the roads, especially those with high traffic such as the MR3 connecting Ngwenya and Manzini. When it rains, there are high chances that there will be accidents on that road. We really need to conduct a special audit of that road and look at the causal factors: Be it the condition of the vehicles, recklessness of the driver or the road itself,” the PS said.
Speaking at the same event, the Acting WHO Representative Dr Geoffrey Bisoborwa commended the team of auditors and further stated that the skills they had learnt would enable them to identify safety components from design, construction, and post-construction.
Dr Bisoborwa mentioned that globally, we are expected to reduce road traffic fatalities and injuries by 50 per cent by 2030. He stated that road traffic injuries remained a significant public health concern, causing nearly 1.3 million preventable deaths and an estimated 50 million injuries each year. He said in September 2020, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to proclaim the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030, aimed at reducing road traffic accidents.
He applauded the ongoing collaboration between the WHO and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and further encouraged that the team of auditors be given room to put their skills to good use in order for them to contribute towards a safer Eswatini.