Message from HE Mr. Jamal Abasso
Forward
Ethiopia is the second-most populous country in Africa, with a population of over 110 million people. It has one of the fastest growing economies on the continent. Despite having a relatively low number of vehicles, the country experiences a high number of deaths and property damage due to traffic crashes.
While the expansion of safe and reliable transportation services is crucial for a country's development, traffic crashes have a significant negative impact on society, causing social, economic, and psychological damage by taking lives and disabling people. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that an average of 1.35 million people die each year from traffic crashes globally, with between 20 and 50 million sustaining various injuries and over $600 billion in property damage. The most affected age group is citizens between the ages of 5 and 29.
In Ethiopia, data from 2010 to 2014 E.C shows that on average, over 4,000 people die from traffic crashes, while over 10,000 sustain serious and minor injuries, and billions of property damage occurs. Unfortunately, most of the victims are between the ages of 18 and 50, who are essential to the country's progress.
To address this issue, the Road Safety and Insurance Fund Service were established by the Council of Ministers with Regulation Number 493/2014. It aims to coordinate, lead, and support national- scale road traffic crash reduction efforts and reduce the social and economic impact of traffic crashes on victims.
The institution is responsible for shaping and implementing road traffic safety policies and strategies, establishing a modern operating system that is transparent and coordinated and ensuring stakeholder participation. Its mission is to protect citizens from traffic crashes and provide support in case of a traffic crash through a post-traffic crash service.
Solving the problem of traffic crashes requires the involvement of all stakeholders, including road transport system providers and administrators, media and educators, creative people, research professionals, road users, politicians, and others. It is everyone's responsibility to prevent death and disabilities resulting from traffic crash.
To create a safe community, a coordinated effort involving regional and city governments, government and non-governmental institutions, and senior politicians is critically necessary. The Road Safety and Insurance Fund Service is implementing a 10-year National Road Safety Strategy to reduce traffic fatalities by 50% and bring the death toll from traffic accidents to 10 people per 10 thousand vehicles.
Message from HE Ms. Fetiya Dedgeba
The road transport service sector plays a crucial role in driving our country towards becoming a symbol of inclusive prosperity in Africa and achieving middle-income status. Studies have shown that over 95% of the country's import and export goods flow and more than 97% of passenger activity are carried out through the road transport sector.
Unfortunately, road traffic accidents have resulted in an average of more than 4,000 deaths per year in our country since 2010-2014 E.C. This, along with the sale of serious and minor injuries and billions of property damage due to traffic crashes, is unacceptable. To mitigate this risk, the Road Safety and Insurance Fund Service (RSIFS) was established by the Council of Ministers with regulation No. 493/2014, with a mandate to take the lead in reducing traffic fatalities.
To achieve this mandate, the RSIFS has developed a 10-year road safety strategy plan and has commenced implementing road safety programs such as road safety management systems, safe speed, safe road infrastructure, safe vehicles, safe road users, and post-crash response. The aim is to reduce traffic fatalities by 50% by 2030 and ensure that none of our citizens suffer due to traffic crash fatalities or serious injuries.
Within a year of its establishment, the RSIFS has focused on creating awareness, nationwide traffic law enforcement, implementing medical compensation payments for traffic crash victims, enacting new laws, and reforming regulations, while also building capacity and coordinating procedures. However, achieving this goal requires a significant budget, knowledge, and active participation and support from public and shareholder bodies.
Therefore, I call on the public, stakeholder bodies, RSIFS employees, and management to play their part in preventing any fatalities or serious disabilities resulting from traffic crashes in our nation. It is only through collective efforts and cooperation that we can create a safe and prosperous society for all.
