Morocco, Leader in Road Accidents Prevention, Hosts 2023 Kofi Annan Road Safety Award

The 2023 Kofi Annan Road Safety Award, which will be held in Marrakesh on Sept.25-26, is an international recognition of the outstanding efforts made by Morocco to curb fatalities and injuries from road accidents.

The event is organized by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the UN Special Envoy for Road Safety and the Kofi Annan Foundation. The award aims to inspire governments, private sectors, civil society organizations, and individuals to develop and implement innovative initiatives that can save lives on the continent’s roads.

Candidacies for the award should be submitted from June 1st until end of the same month. The shortlist will be released by 31 July.

Morocco is making huge efforts to reduce road accidents by launching intensive grassroots awareness campaigns, setting the example for Africa. In 2020, the country set up the National Road Safety Agency (NARSA). This agency builds on the success the National Committee for The Prevention of Traffic Accidents (CNPAC), created in 1977.

The North African Kingdom is also a champion of South-South cooperation with its African partners in road transport and road safety.

In Africa, traffic deaths account for about one quarter of the global number of victims, even though the continent has barely 2 per cent of the world’s vehicle fleet.
The Continent has the highest road traffic fatality rate of 26.6 deaths per 100,000 population, much higher than the global average of 17.5.