BUDVA: The FIA has expanded its Safe Mobility 4 All & 4 Life programme into Africa and the Middle East, widening a road safety initiative aimed at helping local authorities and mobility organizations develop practical safety projects. The announcement was made during the FIA Region I Spring Meeting in Budva as the federation extended the programme to its MENA Mobility Council and the African Council of Touring and Automobile Clubs, known as ACTA.
Developed by the FIA in collaboration with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, or UNITAR, and backed by the FIA Foundation, the programme combines training, mentorship and evidence-based planning. The FIA said the model is intended to give participating clubs and partner authorities tools to identify risks, design interventions and build cooperation among institutions involved in safer mobility, with a focus on turning technical guidance into concrete local action.
The expansion adds two regions to a programme already introduced in the Americas, Asia-Pacific and the Central and Eastern Europe grouping within FIA Region I. UNITAR has described the initiative as a capacity-building platform for automobile clubs and officials that includes in-person workshops, online learning and a mentorship component linked to project design. Earlier editions included a launch in Panama City in November 2024 and a workshop in Manila in March 2026.
Regional road safety burden
The move comes against a severe road safety backdrop in Africa. The World Health Organization says road traffic injuries caused an estimated 225,482 deaths in the WHO African Region in 2021, leaving it with the highest fatality rate among WHO regions at 19.4 deaths per 100,000 people. WHO also says Africa accounts for 19% of global road deaths despite representing 15% of the world’s population and about 3% of the global vehicle fleet.
In the Eastern Mediterranean region, which includes much of the Middle East and North Africa, WHO says road traffic injuries cause about 125,781 deaths each year and the region has the world’s second-highest road traffic death rate. WHO says more than a third of those deaths involve pedestrians and cyclists, pointing to the breadth of road users affected across the region’s cities, highways and secondary roads.
FIA programme structure and reach
UNITAR has said the programme is structured to help participants design projects and actions that promote road safety at local and national levels while also encouraging the partnerships needed to carry them out. The FIA said the Africa and Middle East phase will run through its regional mobility bodies, including ACTA and the MENA Mobility Council, extending a framework already used in earlier regional editions with support from the FIA Foundation.
The FIA has increasingly presented road safety as a central part of its mobility work alongside its motor sport role, while UNITAR has framed the programme as a way to translate technical knowledge into applied local measures. With the latest expansion, the FIA and UNITAR are extending the initiative’s reach across two regions where road traffic deaths remain elevated in global health data, broadening a programme that now spans multiple regional blocs. – By Content Syndication Services.