_{By Tatenda Chimbwanda}

Harare, Zimbabwe – Globally acclaimed French motor racing executive and former rally co-driver, Jean Todt, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, visited Harare, Zimbabwe from 6-8 June 2023. The mission aimed to meet with high-ranking government officials and key stakeholders, such as the UN, to advocate for the effective implementation of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, which aims to halve the number of victims on the road by 2030.

The visit also assessed Zimbabwe's progress in ensuring road safety following the United Nations Road Safety Performance Reviews (RSPR) conducted in 2022. The RSPR revealed that official statistics confirm Zimbabwe has not achieved the Sustainable Development Goal target 3.6 to reduce road crash deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2020.

A highlight of the mission was a meeting between Special Envoy Todt and His Excellency President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who reaffirmed his commitment to implementing measures to adopt international best practices on road safety. The meeting provided an opportunity for both leaders to discuss the importance of road safety and the need to prioritize it on the government's agenda. They also discussed measures to strengthen institutional capacity and review policy and legislative frameworks for effective road traffic management and regulation to ensure secure and safe roads. The meeting focused on the technical assistance being extended to Zimbabwe to improve various aspects of road safety.

"The Republic of Zimbabwe welcomes the special visit by the UN Special Envoy. As President of the nation, I would also welcome any assistance, especially on training in road safety, including evaluation of our driver training systems," said President Mnangagwa.

Special Envoy Todt had a series of meetings with high-ranking officials during his visit, including the Hon. Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Hon. F. Mhona; Hon. R. Mavunga-Maboyi, the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs; Hon. Oppa. Muchinguri, the Minister of Defence (Acting for Foreign Affairs and International Trade); and the French Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr. Laurent Chevallier. He also met with other important figures, such as the Resident Coordinator, Mr Edward Kallon, and the WHO Representative, Professor Jean-Marie Dangou, as well as other members of the UN Country Team. Additionally, the UN Special Envoy visited various public, private, and humanitarian-led facilities that provide direct assistance to victims of Road Traffic Accidents, such as Trauma Centre in Borrowdale, Chitungwiza Central Hospital in Chitungwiza, and Red Cross in Harare.

Jean Todt highlighted core solutions to address road safety in Zimbabwe, which fall under the safe systems approach. "These include education, enforcement of laws and regulations, ensuring roadworthy vehicles are in use, rehabilitation of roads, working traffic lights and visible road markings, and investing in post-crash care, including building the capacity for first responders (first aid)," he said.

Based on Todt's key recommendations, Zimbabwe will work on establishing a high-level inter-ministerial coordination mechanism on road safety and strengthening current coordination mechanisms to include government line ministries, UN agencies, and private stakeholders. Moreover, Zimbabwe will identify road safety champions, such as celebrities, to spearhead road safety campaigns and consider resource mobilization through the UN Road Safety Fund, with WHO working closely with the Red Cross and Ministry of Transport.

Special Envoy Jean Todt's mission to Zimbabwe was a significant step towards raising awareness on road safety in the country. With the government's commitment and international community support, Zimbabwe can make substantial progress in improving road safety and saving lives on its roads.