Empowering Voices for Change: ONASER Trains Hauts-Bassins Opinion Leaders to Champion Road Safety

ONASER Trains Customary, Traditional, and Religious Leaders on Road Safety

The National Road Safety Office (ONASER) is conducting a training workshop from September 17 to 18, 2024, for 50 customary, traditional, and religious leaders from the Hauts-Bassins region. The workshop aims to establish a culture of road safety in the population through education and awareness-raising actions.

Objectives of the Workshop

According to SAME / Boudnoma Nina Yaméogo, Director of Road Safety Planning and Promotion at ONASER, the objective of the workshop is to contribute to improving road safety by involving religious, customary, and traditional leaders. This will be achieved by strengthening their capacities to analyze and lead in the field of road safety.

“The participation of customary, traditional, and religious leaders in the fight against road insecurity is a crucial step in conveying good practices in road traffic and making the fight against road insecurity their own by preaching them every day,” emphasized SAME / Boudnoma Nina Yaméogo.

Road Safety Challenges

SAME / Boudnoma Nina Yaméogo highlighted that “through our daily bad behavior on the roads, we have transformed road traffic into a real jungle where the strongest users impose themselves on vulnerable users who mainly include young people.”

Empowering Leaders as Road Safety Ambassadors

The workshop will provide participants with knowledge on the status, attributions, bodies, and operation of ONASER. It will also enable them to master basic concepts and become road safety ambassadors.

Participants will learn about the problem of road traffic accidents in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso, the institutional and regulatory framework, and good practices in road safety.

Call to Action

SAME / Boudnoma Nina Yaméogo invited all citizens to participate in the fight against road insecurity by setting an example on the road and informing their neighbors about the risks they take by not respecting the highway code.

Statistics on Road Accidents

According to statistics for 2023 by ONASER, there were 22,156 accidents, causing 14,231 injuries and 906 deaths. In the first quarter of 2024, 5,542 accidents were recorded, including 3,799 injured and 295 killed.

In the Hauts-Bassins region, 2,876 accidents were recorded in 2023, causing 2,751 injuries and 87 deaths. In the first quarter of 2024, 706 accidents were recorded, including 786 injuries and 41 deaths.

Conclusion

Boubié Ido, representative of the governor of the Hauts-Bassins region, welcomed the holding of this training workshop. He expressed hope that the training will lead to strong conclusions and decisions to contribute to improving road safety in the country.