Are you mindful of your road use behaviour? Do you acknowledge other road users? We are challenging you to be accountable and courteous as a road user so that together we can create a future with safer roads. The Ondaba Road Safety campaign was officially flagged off on November 18, at Mpigi Health Center IV under the theme “Mind my Life, Mind Your life,” to raise awareness, support enforcement, and strengthen post-crash care interventions across the country, particularly along the Kampala-Masaka Highway, which has been identified to have a high fatality rate. Dr Nabanja Juliet, Assistant Commissioner of Clinical Services who represented the Minister of Health Dr Ruth Aceng, Mpigi local leaders and Road Safety CSOs graced the event.
As one of the activities to support post-crash care, we have refurbished the Mpigi Health Center IV Accident and Emergency (A & E) Unit. We increased its capacity from 2 beds to 7 beds, donated some equipment and will support the training of its emergency staff in First Aid. Safe roads are critical to the health and well-being of our colleagues, their families, and communities across the globe. Road Safety forms part of our ESG priorities in line with the United Nations’ global call to the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety to improve road safety by reducing road traffic deaths and injuries by at least 50% by 2030.
Uganda National Road Safety Action Plan launched recently by the Ministry of Works and Transport calls for the reduction of road crash fatalities and injuries by 25 per cent between 2022 and 2026. According to Uganda Police Annual Crime Report 2021, there was an increase in road deaths by 14.9%, from 3,663 in 2020 to 4,159 in 2021, with over 12,000 people injured; this is one of the highest figures in East Africa and globally. There are 10 deaths per day in Uganda due to road crashes according to The Road Safety Situation report presented to parliament in July this year.
Special thanks to our partners in this project who include Consult Afrika Usalama, the Ministry of Works and Transport, Uganda National Roads Authority, the Emergency Medical Services department at the Ministry of Health – Uganda, Uganda Police and Orthopaedic Association of Uganda with whom we shall address one of the most extensive public health challenges in Uganda which is road crash accidents.