Driving Change: How Health Systems Can Lead Kenya’s Road Safety Revolution

Every year, UN Global Road Safety Week casts a necessary and urgent spotlight on one of the most under-addressed global health challenges—road traffic injuries and deaths. This year, from 12th to 18th May 2025, the world unites under the theme #MakeWalking&CyclingSafe, a call to action that urges countries and communities to prioritize the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. These road users, often the most vulnerable, are disproportionately affected by poorly designed urban spaces, weak enforcement of traffic laws, and limited public health infrastructure. This theme pushes us to reimagine mobility not just through the lens of infrastructure, but through the lens of health systems and equity.

In Kenya, road traffic incidents continue to exact a heavy toll—not only in lives lost but in the strain placed on already overstretched health systems. Trauma wards overflow, emergency services are burdened, and families suffer devastating emotional and economic consequences. And yet, road safety often remains sidelined in public health discourse. The need to integrate road safety into health planning and systems thinking is both urgent and long overdue.

It is in response to this need that the Institute of Healthcare Management at Strathmore Business School (SBS), in partnership with the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and the University of Nairobi, funded by the World Bank under the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety has launched a vital research project aimed at strengthening Kenya’s approach to road user safety. The project focuses specifically on the use of seat belts and awareness around Child Restraint Systems (CRS)—critical components of safe road use that remain underutilized across much of the country.

To support this mission, a competent team of researchers was deployed along the Northern Corridor, one of East Africa’s busiest and most important trade routes. This corridor serves as a powerful focal point for the study—not only because of the high volume of vehicular traffic but because it reflects the diversity of road users across Kenya, from long-distance drivers to informal transport operators, pedestrians, and cyclists. The research aims to produce evidence that can inform policies at both the local and national levels, bridging the gap between knowledge and action.

This collaborative project underscores the critical importance of multisectoral partnerships in tackling road safety. By bringing together academic insight, regulatory expertise, and public sector coordination, the initiative is not only advancing scholarship but also laying the groundwork for transformative policy change. It exemplifies how public health institutions, when aligned with transport authorities and research bodies, can play a pivotal role in shaping environments that are safer for all.

As the world marks UN Global Road Safety Week 2025, this partnership highlights a clear pathway forward for Kenya. The call to road safety resonates deeply with local realities, where drivers, passengers and pedestrians navigate daily risks with little protection or recognition. Safe roads are not a luxury—they are a public health necessity, and ensuring that every person can travel safely, whether on foot, on a bicycle, or in a vehicle, must become a national priority.

Let us go beyond awareness and recommit to action. Let us reframe road safety not as a transport issue, but as a public health imperative. And let us recognize the work of institutions like the Institute of Healthcare Management, the NTSA, and the University of Nairobi as critical steps toward building a healthier, safer, and more just Kenya—one in which every journey begins and ends in safety.

Article by: Judith Adhiambo Amolo