Data for Decision-Making: JH-IIRU Launches Status Summary Reports in Two African Cities
With the support of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit (JH-IIRU) launched the 2023 Status Summary Reports for Kampala, Uganda, and Mombasa, Kenya.
Both reports were developed in collaboration with BIGRS partners and JH-IIRU local collaborators from each city. These reports provide government authorities and key stakeholders with data on the status of road safety risk factors and trends within their cities. They also offer targeted, evidence-based, and contextually relevant recommendations that aim to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries.
Kampala
The Status Summary Report 2023 for Kampala was launched on January 16, 2024, in partnership with the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), the Makerere University School of Public Health, and Vital Strategies and it presented key information regarding speed and helmet use in Kampala.
Based on data collected between February 2021 and October 2023, speeding vehicles were traveling at an average of 57 km/h, with speeding being highest (10%) among sport utility vehicles (SUVs). The report also highlighted significant concerns with respect to helmet use in Kampala - correct helmet use among all motorcyclists was only 19%.
Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Rebecca Bavinger attended the launch and shared valuable insights on the organization’s road safety work in the city. This facilitated fruitful conversations among colleagues, stakeholders, and partners.
“Let us use this research to make a difference in our communities,” stated the Mayor of the Nakawa Municipality, Paul Mugambe, during the launch.
Following the event, Dr. James Kumwenda, Global Program Manager of the BIGRS for JH-IIRU, was part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies-led delegation that met with the Lord Mayor of Kampala City, His Worship Erias Lukwago, and other city government officials, where the crucial importance of prioritizing vulnerable road users as a key strategy was discussed.
Mombasa
On January 18, 2024, JH-IIRU launched the Status Summary Report 2023 for Mombasa in collaboration with the Mombasa County Government, Innologic Solutions, and Vital Strategies. This report focused on speed, helmet use, and seat-belt and child restraint use data.
Within several key findings highlighted in the document, was the fact that speeding remains an issue of concern in Mombasa County. Speeding was high among all observed vehicles (26%). Motorcyclists also remain at risk, with helmet use among motorcyclists at 19%. Moreover, child restraint use among children under 12 years old was nearly non-existent and the use of seat-belts was 30% lower on weekends.
The speed-related observations took place in December 2022, April 2023, and October 2023; while the helmet, and seat-belt and child restraint use observations were conducted in December 2022 and April 2023.
“It’s important to understand that all of us use roads and until and unless we design roads for all of us to be safe, for all of us to be able to use roads effectively and efficiently, we won’t be able to address the road safety problem. We really need to focus on the Safe System approach,” expressed Dr. Abdulgafoor Bachani, Director of JH-IIRU, in his remarks at the launch event.
JH-IIRU has produced the BIGRS-supported Status Summary Reports for several cities across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, all of which aim to inform and empower stakeholders within the road safety arena to trigger positive change. To read the reports for Kampala and Mombasa, click here.