In his second article of the new year, our regular youth columnist giving us the low down on everything youth and road safety in Africa Mr Brian K Mwebaze gives us his latest insights. In this article, Brian explores the power of the ‘girl-factor’ in peer-to-peer messaging and draws strong parallels to campaigns using the power of women in influencing their loved males.

Alright sons, time to get your seats in front of this fire place; girls, let’s have enough fire wood; we gotta have a talk right here! Sure, that’s how serious talks were held by our ancestors a few centuries ago but thanks to ‘modernization’, (I hate that word with all my heart and brain), serious talks are being held on Skype, phone, Twitter and Facebook with the former being the platform where relationship statuses are announced! *Shocked Face* Let’s put that in the cabin ok…we are talking about the ‘girl-factor’ or what many young people call ‘chick power’ as regards road safety in Africa. You see, I experienced my ‘Uh-ha! moment’ in 2010 when the then Uganda’s Minister for Ethics and Integrity announced on national television that girls on the road were responsible for a number of accidents on the road! His counterpart in Nigeria and South Africa did not object! Of course, in his reasoning, it had something to do with the dress code that would send many drivers’ brains to wonderland (that doesn’t include me though haha, being a road safety guy!). I have found this hard to accept (yet it looks true for now) that Beyonce was right to say “Girls Run The World”. Take a moment for example; I knew my mummy’s exact birth day before my daddy’s! Women have a massive influence in the world and this is probably understated.

Well, according to UNFPA (2010), the percentage of males aged 15-30 in Africa was 41% with that of females being 59%. We know this is supported by the genetic explanation of strong Y and Weak X Chromosomes-Hold up! I gotta save you from the rocket science explanations 😉 As the UN Decade of Action 2011-2020 puts it, this target group, especially males are also top on the list for being very vulnerable to road traffic crashes. In this case, I am not recommending for trans-sexuals to balance up the equation but you will agree with me that girls form a bigger population in arguably all cases namely, early levels of school education, in movie theatres, in supermarkets, when they support a political candidate<<<he/she MUST win. There are over 150,000 campaigns focusing on the girl child compared to about 200 campaigns focused on the boy child according to Oaklyn (2011). I know no special campaign focusing on the boy child in my country only that many of the programmes are horizontal-that is to say covering both boys, boys-to-men, men, and elders. But more for the record, over 80% of these programmes use the peer education approach!

The peer education approached gained momentum in Africa in the late 1980s following the discovery of the HIV/AIDS virus although in the 1800s it was used in England’s early education, and of course my father, Philosopher Pluto had already used the approach years before! This approach involved training peer educators on the facts about STDs and HIV/AIDS and then expected to provide vital life skills education to their peers. Although, there are more questions than answers as regards measuring the impact of this approach, it has since gained international approval and has been (well, and is still) running the show in the field of HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention in Africa. But, has anybody, dared to use the same approach and this time using more girls as peer educators in the field of first aid and road safety? I mean, on a serious note, many of the drivers and motorcyclists in Africa are without any argument Men! If girls were given an enabling environment to exercise and advocate for road safety, it is natural that almost all men would take care while on the road!

Look guys, I am not looking at the exploitation factor, but I am looking at what Michael Gladwell in his book ‘The Tipping Point’ calls the ‘Stickiness Factor’. There is a higher chance that road safety messages will stick in the minds of these often ‘road safety care free dudes’ if they are shared in a peer-message by the women they love; daughters, girlfriends, wives, mothers, grandmothers, aunties, sisters, hence becoming a direct route to positive behavioral change while on the road. Some campaigns like the Sussex Road Safety Campaign and examples from Australia illustrate the influence of women on loved ones is major (examples in right column).

If you haven’t heard, the United Nations Secretary General Mr. Ban K-Moon (Did you notice, he has the same initials, B.K.M, as myself #SWAG) will be appointing a Special Youth Representative in his 5 year innovative vision…and…well…I hope am right..but wouldn’t it be cool to have this person a female?

Glasses of juice, water and milk up (not beer) for all the youth in Africa making road safety moves! Youth conventions in South Africa and Botswana around April 2012, Namibia May 2012, Niger, Benin, Senegal, Tunisia, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Gambia-road safety peeps! Wish you the best in your arrangements, but could you please dare the peer education approach into road safety with the girl power factor forming the pillar? As for the organizations running the already mentioned 150,000 girl child focused campaigns, if only we had at least 1 female peer educator in the schools you operate in, the African gods would be extremely happy!

The Road Safety in 10 Countries Project (RS10) was  funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies back in 2010 to improve road safety in 10 low and middle income countries (LMICs). A consortium of partners iniated this program and worked in key areas of focus in improving road safety from road trauma care to the promotion of seatbelt and helmet use. The project has now received additional funding to continue its work.

The RS10 Project currently works in the following 10 countries:

• Brazil
• Cambodia,
• China
• Egypt
• India
• Kenya
• Mexico
• Russian Federation
• Turkey
• Vietnam 

Additionally, the project focuses on trauma care in Kenya and India, and data systems development in Kenya and Egypt.

2012 marks the half-way point in this 5-year project whose overall goal is to prevent thousands of road traffic deaths and injuries. Conducted during the Decade of Action for Road Safety, the RS10 Project will provide useful information on “what works” in developing countries while the second Global status report on road safety will provide a baseline from which to measure Decade achievements.

Some of RS10’s Activities Include:

• Reviewing the current road safety legislation and proposing appropriate amendments where necessary.
• Developing road safety social marketing campaigns relating to specific risk factors to be addressed nationally and in specific intervention sites. These are aimed at sensitizing the general public about particularly risky behaviour, or at increasing their awareness about enforcement;
• Procuring equipment relating to the identified riskfactors (e.g. alcohol breathalyzers, speed radars) and training police in their use;
• Training police in enhanced enforcement practices and supporting the implementation there of; Training other road safety personnel including health care workers about road traffic injury prevention;
• Improving the road traffic data information systems in two countries;
• Assessing the prehospital and trauma care needs in two countries and addressing these through training, provision of equipment, monitoring, etc.; and
• Ongoing monitoring of key indicators in the intervention sites. 

More information about RS10 can be found in attachments.

Attachments