Introduction:

The purpose of this event is to remember those who have died in road crashes. In 2021, this figure was 4,159 lives lost. The intention is to work with organisations involved in promoting road safety in Uganda, prioritising Kampala including; but not limited to: the BIRGS programme partners, KCCA, MoWT, UNRA, UPDN, URRENO, HOVITA, SWRW, Transaid and for all parties to pool their resources into one day.

Objectives:

The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDR) is commemorated on the third Sunday of November each year.
It is a high-profile global event to remember the many millions who have been killed and seriously injured on the world’s roads and to acknowledge the suffering of all affected victims, families and communities – millions added each year to countless millions already suffering: a truly tremendous cumulative toll.

This Day has also become an important tool for governments and all those whose work involves crash prevention or response to the aftermath of crashes, since it offers the opportunity to demonstrate the enormous scale and impact of road deaths and injuries, call for an end to the often trivial and inappropriate response to road death and injury and advocate for urgent concerted action to stop the carnage.

This year 2022, The commemoration shall focus on Justice. Traffic law enforcement, thorough investigation after a crash to find out if a crime was committed and to prevent recurrence, criminal prosecution where appropriate and civil compensation are all part of the justice system. When carried out seriously, fairly and consistently, such a system is what road crash victims who have been injured or had a family member killed as the result of someone’s law–breaking or negligence deserve and wish for, since it also represents a main factor of prevention and this would mean that lessons are learnt from their tragedies so that they may not be repeated.
In summary we hope to:
1. Remember all people killed and seriously injured on the roads
2. Acknowledge the crucial work of the emergency services
3. Draw attention to the generally trivial legal response to culpable road deaths and injuries and advocate for an appropriately serious response
4. Advocate for better support for road traffic victims and victim families
5. Promote evidence-based actions to prevent and eventually stop further road traffic deaths and injuries

Event format

1. Have a symbolic display of shoes to represent the victims, mainly the pedestrians who are the most affected road user in Uganda.
2. Preliminary messages/campaigns
3. Visit to emergency ward of Mulago Hospital to show case concern for victims admitted at the time
4. Social media, TV/radio campaigns

We aim to gain momentum for a full week running up to the day by placing focus on road crashes, impact, causes, behaviors that increase risk (e.g. Boda riders and passengers not using helmets). Use traffic report to highlight key target/focus areas.