The World Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the International Transport Forum (ITF) to establish a regional Road Safety Observatory in Africa.

The first of its kind in the continent, the observatory will help magnify the efforts of African countries to reduce road transport fatalities.

It will work to combine all the activities to systematically procure, analyse and share reliable road crash data.

Furthermore, the Road Safety Observatory will facilitate the exchange of knowledge between road safety experts and governments in Africa, as well as help in implementing effective policies across the region.

“These insights will help African nations to devise evidence-based strategies and interventions to reduce road incidents.”

World Bank Transport and Digital Development senior director José Luis Irigoyen said: “We are confident that the new observatory will increase the visibility of the road safety challenge in Africa, enable governments to advance regional collaboration, and leverage synergies among African nations to improve road safety conditions, as the Road Safety Observatory in Latin America (OISEVI) is already doing.”

With Africa witnessing the highest rate of traffic fatalities in the world, road safety improvement has emerged as one of the most important development priorities in the continent.

The new observatory will help to identify and gain better insight into the key risk factors affecting traffic safety by assessing comprehensive and accurate data.

These insights will help African nations to devise evidence-based strategies and interventions to reduce road incidents.

In February, various African countries signed a resolution to support the establishment of Road Safety Observatory, including Benin, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.

These seven nations are working together to formulate the observatory’s governance structure and funding.