“What I find meaningful is our contribution to the strengthening of road safety in our country.”
In 2011, Koffi Nuseto was involved in a motorbike accident that left him with chronic pain and a deep commitment to making the roads in Togo safer. With AVA-Togo, Koffi has been raising awareness about road safety and providing support to victims of road crashes. AVA-Togo has established a motorcycle driving school to educate drivers on the Highway Code, which covers rules, regulations, signage, first aid, and basic road safety practices.
Koffi applied to be an Advocate as there are very few opportunities for this type of training in the francophone West Africa sub-region and he felt he needed better skills to tackle the road safety challenges in his country. The results of the training are evident in the activities Koffi has undertaken since returning from Memphis and in his new orientation toward results.
Koffi has established a national alliance of road safety NGOs and stakeholders for greater collaboration and mutual support. AVA-Togo has conducted three education sessions for motorbike drivers, seven televised road safety education debates or discussions to raise community awareness and some school-based education for students near busy roads. Monitoring is now a greater priority in order to understand the impact of AVA-Togo’s work with motorcycle drivers; these activities are ongoing. Koffi was also appointed as one of eight focal points on data collection for the 4th Global Road Safety Status Report. The results of their research will be used to draft a national policy on road safety to be submitted to the government in July 2017. Political will and weak purchasing power of the average citizen (for safer vehicles and helmets) remain key challenges for road safety in Togo. One of the next projects for Koffi and his colleagues is to help get a speed limit law passed.
