Round the World Roundtable: Road Safety and Leadership in Cameroon

In 2016, road traffic incidents resulted in around 1,879 deaths in Cameroon, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

On Monday 9 December 2019, Alliance member Securoute, Cameroon, hosted a Round the World Roundtable at the National Assembly in Cameroon. The purpose of the event was to secure commitments from the Ministries of Transport, Public Health, and Public Works and other members of the Assembly and Senate to reduce road crashes and resulting fatalities and disabilities by promoting road safety and leadership in the public, private, and civil society sectors. The roundtable featured speeches from Mr. Jean Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe, Minister for Transport, and the Honorable Cavayé Yéguié Djibril, President of the National Assembly, as well as Mr. Martial Missimikim, Chairman of SECUROUTE, and Dr. Habimana Phaniel, WHO Country Representative.

Several significant commitments were made at the roundtable. 

• Creation of a national lead agency for road safety: According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety, Cameroon is one of only 14 countries around the world that does not have a lead agency to coordinate road safety. Having a lead agency is a significant advantage: it enables road safety to be tackled more strategically and without one, road safety gets passed around different departments. This commitment has significant potential to assist efforts in the country to reduce road deaths and injuries. 
• Creation of a national road safety data system: Improving road safety data has been identified as an important driver for improving road safety across Africa and resulted in the creation of the Africa Road Safety Observatory. The commitment in Cameroon to create a national data system will enable leaders to make the right road safety decisions based on evidence.
• Endorsement of the Manifesto #4RoadSafety from the Global Network of Road Safety Legislators: The manifesto sets out recommendations for parliamentarians to encourage government-level action that would enable countries to tackle road safety and prevent road deaths and injuries. Read the Manifesto HERE.

Our congratulations to Securoute and to the members of the National Assembly of Cameroon on their commitments and look forward to hearing about the actions resulting from these commitments.