Road accidents kill 1.35 million people worldwide annually and are the leading cause of death among young people aged 5 - 29 years. According to WHO Report 2020, road traffic accidents death in Uganda reached 13,012 or 6.27% of total deaths. The age adjusted death rate is 53.60 per 100,000 of population and ranks Uganda 6th in the world. Safety is a core value for TotalEnergies, and we aim to share our expertise with local populations - and young people in particular - to reduce the number of road victims and contribute to achieving the UN goal to cut road traffic deaths by half by 2030.
In line with this objective, TEPU through its partnership with Safe Way Right Way is implementing VIA Road Safety Education Program in schools to reduce risks of accidents because of increased activities and promote safe behaviour to ensure road safety for all. Currently being implemented in 120 schools around the project areas (Buliisa, Nwoya, Hoima, Kikuube plus Kampala). Launched on April 2022, to date the program has been rolled out in 4 districts reaching 259 teachers trained, 128 active schools and 19,049 students in primary and secondary schools have attended and completed modules the VIA Road Safety program.
We adopted the “Train the Trainer” model and trained schoolteachers as VIA educators, selected teachers are empowered to deliver the VIA road safety program within their respective schools into of two hours for all the four learning modules. This programme is built on internationally recognized child road safety education best practices, which drew from the experience of road safety practitioners from a breadth of industries and from the knowledge of the Global Road Safety Partnership Expert Team.
TotalEnergies EP Uganda (TEPU) has empowered over 19,000 children and 259 teachers with the knowledge and skills to stay safe on the road and become road safety ambassadors among their peers and in the communities. Our VIA road safety program and campaigns in primary and secondary schools aim to educate and empower students.
In addition to the VIA program implementation, the Company in partnership SWRW, Traffic police and Road Safety specialists have undertaken a study on the School Zone Road Safety Assessment for Schools in Buliisa District. Some of the remedial actions to be implemented include boundary tree planting and shrub live fencing to be delivered by SWRW in collaboration with identified local Community based organizations to reduce the road safety risk for school going children in Buliisa and Nwoya districts.
