Appendix D Contact Database

As outlined in the terms of reference, a database of contacts throughout Sub Saharan has been provided by the research team and is given in appendix 4. Of the 42 countries included in the study, information is provided on 41 the exception being Somalia.

A decision was taken to restrict the number of contacts in each country to a maximum of 10 or so. In some countries many more could have been provided (Ghana, Zimbabwe, South Africa for example), whereas in other countries it was difficult to find more than two or three organisations or people with a specific interest in road safety. Where it was possible to be selective, efforts were made to provide the names of contacts with different disciplines or responsibilities. In particular, efforts were made in each country to provide the name of a senior person within a government department (usually the Ministry of Transport or communications) with responsibility for the administration of road safety, a senior police officer, a researcher, (either within a University or a government research centre) and a senior highway engineer.

Information was obtained from a number of sources as follows:

1. TRL's database of contacts throughout the developing world. This has been built up over many years and contains information on about 4,000 people and organisations. Of these about 1,000 are based in Africa. Contacts indicate their areas of interest (for example, urban transport, road safety, highway engineering, geoscience etc) and about 40 per cent of all contacts indicate an interest in road safety. This has been used extensively to provide the database given in appendix D.
2. Another important source of information was obtained from the United Nation Economic commission for Africa (UNECA). Senior staff at UNECA, based in Addis Ababa advise and assist member countries on a wide range of transport related issues and information provided by Dr Ernest Dhliwayo has been particularly useful
3. Members of TRL's International Division are currently working (or have been working) in a number of African countries, particularly Ghana, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Botswana, Zambia, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, South Africa etc. Names of people involved in projects where TRL have played a role have been provided and incorporated into the database.
4. Finally, the organisation Solidarite Internationale sur les Transports et la Recherche en Afrique Sub-Saharienne (SITRASS), based in France has produced an extremely useful booklet of names of people interested in transport research in Africa. This contains information on about 400 contacts/organisations interested in transport research in general. Of these, 42 expressed a specific interest in road safety but of these 7 were based in France, UK or USA. The names of the remaining 35 or so people have been incorporated into the database.

Wherever possible, the actual names of people as well as their position have been provided. Thus if the staff of the Federal Highway Authority or NHTSA wish to make contact with a particular organisation, they can avoid an impersonal approach by contacting a named person. That said, it should be borne in mind that people change position or retire and a turnover of people concerned with road safety in a particular country is inevitable.

Some countries have been particularly active on road safety studies in recent years. For example they may have been in close liason with World Bank staff and in receipt of highway sector or urban project loans.. Such loans (or possibly grants) usually contain a road safety component. Other countries may be in close contact with research organisations such as TRL (UK), INRETS (France) or possibly CSIR (South Africa). The co-operative research undertaken in collaboration with such organisations is generally presented at international conferences etc. Countries which seem to have been particularly active in road safety over recent years include

• Ghana
• Ethiopia
• Tanzania
• South Africa
• Botswana
• Zimbabwe
• Zambia

From the point of view of FHA or NHTSA collaboration on joint road safety research activities etc, in Sub Sahara Africa, it would probably be advantageous to select countries from the above list, where useful work has already been undertaken.

Another important point to consider is that of the availability of road crash data. TRL has spent many years developing a micro-computer - based system for the collection, storage and analysis of crash data for use in developing countries. The system called the Microcomputer Accident Analysis Package, (MAAP) now available in a Windows version, has been introduced into a number of African countries, in most, on a trial or regional basis but in some, it operates as the official national system. In countries where MAAP is available, (which includes most of those listed above), the quality of data, (essential for research and accident analysis purposes). will be much better than in those countries which have not adopted it either wholly or in part.

A few major countries are perhaps conspicuous by their absence on the above lists and Nigeria and Kenya come readily to mind. Nigeria has the second highest number of road deaths in Africa (see section 4), yet as far as the authors of this report are aware, little national or international road safety activity has taken place in recent years. Much of TRL's early work on road safety in developing countries was carried out in Kenya with excellent support provided by the Kenya traffic police, the Nairobi Municipality etc. This was followed in the late 1970's by a lengthy study funded by the government of Finland. Since then relatively little road safety activity has taken place.

Finally, if FHA and NHTSA are interested in supporting more road safety activity in Africa, thought should perhaps be given to setting up co-operative studies with international bodies active on the Continent. These include the World Bank, the UNECA and the African Development Bank. World Bank recently assisted in establishing the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) under the framework of its Business Partners for Development Programme. GRSP is a partnership of private sector, civil society and government organisations collaborating to improve the road safety situation around the world. NHTSA is already represented (through Julie Abraham) on the GRSP Committee.

The UNECA have, for many years supported road safety activity in Africa, producing for example, with TRL support, a manual (in French and English) for drivers of heavy goods vehicles. Over the last ten years thousands of copies of this manual have been distributed throughout Africa. Similar manuals covering other aspects of road safety are clearly needed. Key contacts currently at the UNECA are:

Mamadou Hachim Koumare
Senior Economic Affairs Officer
Regional Co-operation and Integration Division
United nations Economic Commission for Africa
P.O. Box 3005
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia

and also Marie Therese Guiebo at the same address

Another important contact within UNECA is Dr Ernest Dhliwayo formally based in Addis Ababa but now at :

UNECA
(SRDC-SA)
P.O. Box 30647
Lusaka Zambia

The African Development Bank (AfDB) unlike the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank has relatively little involvement in road safety over the last ten years or so. However the AfDB is now showing some interest in road safety and Mr Nnama is on the GRSP Committee.

Sam Nnama
Operations Support Division
Central Operations Department
African Development Bank
B.P.V. 316
Abidjan 01
Cote D' Ivoire