Tracking change: NGOs in road safety advocacy
A recent Mobility Snapshot by
GreenLight Initiative in Abuja, Nigeria, revealed that 1,488 people used
the Utako market and A.E. Ekukinam Street intersection during peak
hour. Yet, the intersection did not have traffic signals or crossings to
protect pedestrians. These 1,488 people’s daily journeys and right to
safe mobility have been overlooked. The Mobility Snapshot in Abuja is
just one example among many, highlighted in last month’s #CommitToAct
campaign, that demonstrates why road safety needs a strong, effective,
data-driven NGO community.
NGOs serve as the eyes, ears, and voices of their communities,
strengthening the evidence base and holding governments accountable. To
be effective, NGOs must ensure their work is data-driven and credible.
To support NGOs in evaluating their advocacy, this month, we added the Accountability Tracker to the existing tools in the Alliance Accountability Toolkit.
The Tracker helps NGOs record advocacy activities and government
responses, encouraging reflection on achievements, challenges, and next
steps. Strong NGOs are crucial partners in achieving the 2030 target to
halve road deaths and injuries. The Tracker is helping the NGO community
to monitor and demonstrate their impact.
Read more HERE.
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Mobility Snapshots around the world by Alliance members
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Mobility Snapshots show unsafe streets for pedestrians worldwide
NGOs and other road safety advocates in
34 countries completed Mobility Snapshots as part of last month’s
#CommitToAct campaign. From the 86 Mobility Snapshots, 90% of the
intersections assessed lacked 30 km/h limits; 85% had no traffic calming
measures in place; and 74% either had poorly maintained/blocked
footpaths or no footpaths at all. While conducting the snapshots, NGOs
described their experiences as “eye-opening“, “concerning“, and “a real
wake-up call”.
NGOs are using the data to highlight the problems faced by those who
travel by foot, by choice or necessity, and advocate to make their
journeys safer. If we make our streets safe for pedestrians, we make
them safe for everyone.
The data from the Mobility Snapshots is also being collated to present a
global picture in the run-up to the 4th Global Ministerial Conference
on Road Safety in February 2025. Together, through the Snapshots, we
will show the reality of people’s journeys around the world and call for
specific, life-saving, and cost-effective Priority Interventions, including 30 km/h limits, pedestrian facilities, and traffic calming.
Each month, we will feature a different Mobility Snapshot from around
the world and how an Alliance member NGO is using it in their advocacy.
Read our feature on Greenlight Initiative’s Mobility Snapshot in Abuja,
Nigeria, BELOW.
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Utako market and A.E. Ekukinam Street Intersection, Abuja
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Featured Mobility Snapshot: Abuja, Nigeria
In Nigeria, GreenLight Initiative
conducted a Mobility Snapshot at the intersection of Utako market and
A.E. Ekukinam Street, Abuja. The chosen intersection is in a busy urban
area with a popular public transportation hub, surrounded by markets,
offices, parks, and hospitals. Despite its importance as a crossing
point for many pedestrians, the intersection lacks critical safety
infrastructure.
Although 1,488 people use the intersection during peak hour, there are
no traffic signals or pedestrian crossings on the main street. Cars and
trucks pass through this intersection at more than 50 km/h. The only
available footpaths are blocked with parked vehicles, jeopardizing the
safety of these people daily.
GreenLight Initiative will use these findings to advocate for the
evidence-based Priority Interventions recommended in the Accountability
Toolkit, including pedestrian facilities, traffic calming, and lower
speed limits.
“Conducting the Mobility Snapshot at Utako Market Abuja FCT was an
eye-opening experience. During our observations, it was striking to see
the number of pedestrians who had to run to cross the road, often
risking their safety to avoid oncoming vehicles. The Mobility Snapshots
are a reminder of the everyday challenges faced by many pedestrians,
emphasizing the importance of our work in advocating for safer and more
inclusive mobility solutions,” says Stephen Adebayo, GreenLight
Initiative.
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Alliance Accountability Toolkit
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Accountability Tracker measures advocacy impact
“The Accountability Tracker not only
helps build a record of evidence-based interventions, but also shows
what didn´t work. This allows NGOs to save time, work, and money,” says
Viviam Perrone, Asociación Civil Madres Del Dolor, Argentina. “The
objective of saving lives can be reached quicker if the work is
organized by using the Tracker. It helps organize activities, as
authorities may change, but NGOs continue with the objective they wish
to fulfill.”
This month, we announced the addition of the Accountability Tracker to
our Accountability Toolkit. The Tracker was piloted and developed with
30 Alliance member NGOs through the Alliance Incubator in 2022 and is
now being rolled out for anyone to use.
The Accountability Tracker helps NGOs to keep good records of their
advocacy progress with their governments, demonstrate the impact of
their advocacy, and reinforce NGO efforts to hold governments
accountable and achieve the 2030 targets.
We encourage NGOs to start using the Tracker today to keep meticulous
records of their advocacy activities with their governments; ensure
government’s accountability to their responses; highlight areas of
success and challenges to learn from; and provide a clear view of
progress and next steps to ensure a focused and relevant advocacy
strategy.
Find out more about the Accountability Tracker HERE.
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Recipients of the inaugural Excellence in Road Safety Awards by Bloomberg Philanthropies
Source: Bloomberg Philanthropies
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NGOs' advocacy contribute to Bloomberg award successes
This month, Bloomberg Philanthropies
announced four recipients of the inaugural Excellence in Road Safety
Awards for work that identifies and promotes exemplary road safety
efforts. The award winners were the National Road Safety Agency of
Argentina; the Secretariat of Mobility in Bogotá, Colombia; the National
Road Safety Observatory in Tunisia; and Pleiku City, Vietnam. Alliance
member NGOs played a key role in each of these successes.
In Tunisia, Alliance member, les Ambassadeurs de la Sécurité Routière has
leveraged the Alliance Incubator and the Alliance and IRF’s LEARN
program, as well as the Botnar Challenge, to support the National Road
Safety Observatory in bringing together different Ministries to
implement an integrated crash database.
In Argentina, Alliance members, including Minu Asociación Civil and Asociación Civil Madres del Dolor,
alongside other NGOs and victim groups, have been influential in
advocacy for and public awareness of the new zero-tolerance policy on
drinking and driving that was pivotal to the National Road Safety
Agency’s award.
Pleiku City's Slow Zones, Safe Zones program is a collaboration between the city and national government and Alliance member, AIP Foundation, to pilot a holistic program including infrastructure modifications to support 30 km/h school zone speed limits.
In Colombia, Alliance member Por la Via Por la Vida - Liga Contra la
Violencia Vial’s advocacy for vulnerable road users, like pedestrians
and cyclists, was crucial for the Secretariat of Mobility’s
award-winning Living Neighborhoods Program that has transformed
communities in Bogotá.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the award winners and NGOs. Read more HERE.
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