Mainstreaming road safety in the regional integration of the East African Community to reduce road traffic injuries

Abstract

The East African Community (EAC) comprising of five states: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania
and Uganda bear a disproportionate burden of the global public health burden for road traffic
injuries (RTIs). In response to this, each state has devised its own road safety measures, but not
at the EAC level. This paper aims to explore how differing road safety policies could be aligned
as part of EAC regional integration so that they become one mainstream policy in the EAC. This
is done after exploring the rate of RTIs; the existing road safety initiatives; and the impact of RTIs
on the EAC integration in the four EAC states excluding Burundi. A desk-based review of data
and information from different sources between 2009 and 2015 for Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and
Uganda was conducted. This revealed that the rate of RTIs in the four EAC states significantly
exceeds the African and global average rates. This is associated with large numbers of fatalities,
debilitating injuries and economic costs which hamper the EAC integration–especially its main
pillar of a common market. All the four states have independently adopted different road safety
laws and policies in line with the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety initiative. A unified road safety policy and road safety lead agency for the EAC as a whole is urgently needed.
This should be based on cooperation and commitment, and take into account the region’s
geopolitical dynamics.