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Governments and city authorities across Africa have been urged to take urgent action to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists, following alarming statistics revealing the high rates of fatalities among these vulnerable road users.
The call came during the 8th UN Global Road Safety Week, which is running from 12 to 18 May 2025, focusing on making walking and cycling safer and more accessible.
Urgency of Protecting Vulnerable Road Users
In a webinar organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), UN-HABITAT, UNEP, and other partners, experts noted how pedestrians and cyclists constitute over one-third of road traffic deaths in Africa.
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Ms Adelheid Onyango, Director of the Universal Health Coverage and Healthier Populations Cluster at WHO’s Regional Office for Africa, said urgent targeted interventions were needed.
“Pedestrians are more than one-third of those who die in road traffic accidents. These are children walking to school, women coming from the market, breadwinners going to work; they are our family and neighbours,” Onyango said.
She added that safety and mobility are fundamental rights, not privileges, and should align with the broader development agenda of leaving no one behind.
Challenges Facing Active Travel in Africa
Oliver Nalwadda, Africa Youth Ambassador for the FIA Foundation and founder of UZIMA ARI Uganda, spoke about the harsh realities facing pedestrians and cyclists.
“In Africa, 35% of road traffic fatalities are active travellers, a figure much higher than other continents,” she explained.
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Nalwadda pointed out the glaring lack of investment in walking and cycling policies, with less than a quarter of African countries having dedicated budgets for such initiatives.
Only 4% of countries have specific walking policies, and 9% have cycling policies.
This neglect, she said, contributes to dangerous roads that restrict access to education, healthcare, and jobs, especially for young women and persons with disabilities.
“I am a young woman born and raised in Uganda, and I wish I walked more. I wish I cycled. But I know that walking on roads without dedicated pedestrian lanes and safe crossings is a death sentence for many of my peers.”
Global Toolkit for Safer Streets
The WHO has launched a comprehensive guide titled Promoting Walking and Cycling: The Toolkit for Policy Options, which offers practical steps for governments to enhance road safety for active travellers.
The toolkit supports the Pan African Action Plan for Active Mobility, advocating for safe, accessible, and inclusive walking and cycling infrastructure.
Dr Fiona Bull, Programme Manager in the Department of Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases at WHO, described the new global toolkit designed to aid countries and cities in improving road safety.
She said the document outlines seven interconnected policy areas, including road design, speed management, and behaviour change initiatives such as reducing distracted driving and enforcing speed limits.
Dr Bull stressed the importance of infrastructure designed for all users, not just vehicles, and called for measures to prevent road spaces from being misused by activities like illegal vending and parking, which can endanger pedestrians and cyclists.