SAVE THE NATION ASSOCIATION (SNA) A DRAFT DOCUMENT FOR BRASILLIA DECLARATION ON ROAD SAFETY CONTACT PERSONS: MESGANAW BIMREW, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CELL PHONE: +251920717744, EMAIL: mesganaw21@yahoo.com SEIFU WORKU, PROGRAM MANAGER CELLPHONE: +251913271767, EMAIL: saf20052003@yahoo.com ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA APRIL 2015
ORGANIZATIONIATIONAL PROFILE Save the nation association is a non profit; non-religious, non political, indigenous development organization started in its begging has its initiation from the founder and Executive Director Ato Misganaw Bimrew himself is one of the victims of traffic accident as he lost his beloved father due to sudden traffic accident. His father was a pedestrian and while he was walking on the road side he was hit by the car named Higer public bus around Megenanea Amche ring road, and the association got its license from Ethiopian charities and societies agency with certificate number 3403 with the vision of preventing children, students, and communities from eminent traffic injury by which reduce property damages and death related to traffic injury. Furthermore, the organization will provide financial aid and material support vulnerable children and students from low income families in the project area. Currently, save the nation has been working in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia elementary schools, high schools, higher education by awareness creation campaign, media, providing reflector material, training school traffic students, providing school material support and financial aid for low income students in the intervention areas. The organization will work towards establishing network/partnership with community, government and non government organizations towards fighting terrible traffic injury (material as well as human loss). Vision Reduce the high rate of traffic accidents and death prevailed in Ethiopia areas by awareness creation, training, media, provision of reflector inclusion of disabled persons. Mission Save the nation association strives to see a healthy and confident, productive children, and youth students, and community who are safe from traffic accident/injury and its effect.
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE OF THE ASSOCIATION Board Auditor Executive Director Program Manager. Accountant and Cashier Secretary Project Coordinator and Legal advisor Figure 2: Administrational structure
1. Road safety and traffic injury 1.1 General Facts on Road Safety and injury Each year, 1.3 million people are killed and 50 million people are injured in road crashes. Those loses have already surpassed malaria and tuberculosis as global burdens of the disease. By 2030 health losses from road crashes are projected to rank second only to those from HIV/AIDS.Over the next 15 years, road deaths and injuries will be greatest cause of healthy life years lost for children between ages 5-14(GRSF; MDB). Around 90 % of road traffic deaths and injuries take place in low income and middle income countries (WHO and Global alliance for road safety, pp3, 2012). S.N Region Fatalities Fatalities UN Decade Lives to be Serious 2010 2020 of action saved injuries to be fatalities target 2020 during 2011-2020 avoided during 2011-2020 1 East Asia and pacific 313,317 646,000 323,000 1,640,000 16,400,000 2 Europe and Central Asia 85,979 97,000 48,500 243,000 2,430,000 3 Latin America and 95,877 130,000 65,000 325,000 3,250,000 Caribbean 4 Middle East and North 100,655 152,000 76,000 380,000 3,800,000 Africa 5 South Asia 275,569 590,000 295,000 1,475,000 14,750,000 6 Sub Saharan African 248,130 365,000 182,500 937,000 9,370,000 Total 1,119,527 1,980,000 990,000 5,000,000 50,000,000 *This excludes high income countries Theoretical explanations that road traffic accidents (RTAs) constitute major health, economic, and developmental challenges of developing countries, especially those in Africa holds true as it is evidenced in many countries. Recently sub Saharan Africa are among the
highest in the world Nigeria as a leading followed by Ethiopia 46.7 % and 37.3 % respectively (GRSF, HARVARD, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, pp.76, 2014). The important issue here is that ever increasing trend and spatial pattern of road injury emerge following the ever increasing demands for fast movements that demand faster means of transport. The social, economic and political impacts of road accidents are widespread all over the world. The loss of lives, damage to property and the sorrow it leaves in human mind are profound though the degree varies from nation to nation, developing nations being the hardest hit RTAs are found to be among the top leading causes of deaths and injuries of various levels. In Ethiopia, the situation has been worsened as the number of vehicles has increased and consequently due to increased traffic flow and conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians. Despite government efforts in the road development, road crashes remain to be one of the critical problems of the road transport sector in Ethiopia. Every year many lives are lost and much property is destroyed due to road traffic accidents in the country. Table 1. Victims of Traffic injury in Ethiopia (2009/10-2013/14) Year Death High Physical Light Physical Number of injury injury vehicles 2013/14 3331 6039 5888 5519000 2012/13 3362 5042 6316 486000 2011/12 3132 4333 4932 423000 2010/11 2541 3545 4570 376000 2009/2010 2600 3494 4275 340000 Source: Ethiopian Federal police commission 2014. Urban areas are the most hit by car crashes due to ever increasing numbers of population and vehicles and the resulting shortage of road facilities and congestion and need to plan in
a sustainable manner. The city of Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia where the majority of road accidents are highly concentrated in. Generally, Addis Ababa, as a capital city of the country and as well as diplomatic seat for different embassies of the world and International and local organizations it is characterized by the largest share of road traffic flow, congestion. The causes for Traffic accidents are categorized in to two, the 1 st category is to drivers, passengers and pedestrian behaviors that are human related causes, and the 2 nd category is non human related factors related to weather condition and accidents. The causes are diverse and dynamic, and are both spatially and temporally significant. These can be identified as human behavioral related and non-human behavior related causes road network situations and vehicle technical problems can be grouped under non human behavior related causes of road crashes. Save the Nation Association (SNA) in its previous project implementation had conducted study and according to the study, it was observed several causes as to be factors for traffic injury and are grouped into driver, vehicle, pedestrian, and environmental factors. Also problems associated with the number and facilities of the traffic police department as well as the traffic regulation itself were assessed. The study further highlighted that the movement of economic activities and services, negligence of taxi drivers and working for longer hours, older taxi vehicle fleet, and inadequacy of traffic control facilities are among the main causes of traffic injury. In addition, the low level of knowledge among pedestrians about the traffic rules, the small number of traffic police working for long hours without incentives, inadequate facilities and the lack of enforcing capacity of the traffic regulation itself have also been identified as the main contributing factors to the incidence and magnitude of traffic accident in Addis Ababa. The spatial variation of taxi traffic injuries showed that injuries are highly concentrated along the busiest roads, squares and around schools, government offices, worship areas,
commercial, recreational as well as dense residential areas. The study also indicated that taxi traffic injuries coincide with peak hours of the day and weekends. Furthermore, the study had found out the high rate of traffic accident around the schools and the causes are varying to mention some; negligence of drivers, low level of awareness of the traffic rules and symbols among students. 2. Our approach for preventing and mitigating traffic injury and ensuring Road safety : 2.1 At local level Install modern traffic facilities such as camera system to control the speed of vehicles Arrange spaces for market areas away from major roads Maintenance of roads which are damaged and widening the narrower roads Ensure road safety during the newly construction of roads Increase the level of awareness of the pedestrians on traffic rules, symbols and regulations Provide incentives for traffic polices for extra service Training of professionals working on transport authority, traffic police department, transport workers, drivers, and others Collaboration and coordination between road transport authority, water and sewerage authority, Ethiopian telecommunication corporation and other sectors as there is digging of roads for installing plugs and pipes that destroy roads and cause traffic injury Non government organizations involvement in the road safety issue should be promoted the only NGO that works on road safety is our s Promote multi- sectoral response among stakeholders for road safety 2.2 At Global level Partnership / Network,cooperation and Inter global alliance on road safety Experience sharing at global level on road safety
Trainings and workshops at global level Funding for developing and strengthening road safety program for those organizations who are working on road safety