EU MENA programme kicks off its second phase: Tunisia pilot project gets moving

As the EU MENA programme enters its second year, beneficiary countries are finalizing action plans for multi-sector and multi-disciplinary road safety pilot projects under the supervision of GRSP experts.

Tunisia is one of the beneficiary countries, the planned activity for which is entitled ‘Design and Establishment of a Road Safety Management System for SORETRAS’ (Sfax Governorate Regional Transport Company).

SORETRAS is the largest public transport company in the country and records the highest number of road crashes, injuries and deaths. The goal of the project is to reduce the number of road crash victims involving SORETRAS by 50% by 2015, with an ultimate goal of zero victims by 2020.

For that purpose, Sandra Arbid, GRSP MENA Junior Road Safety Specialist, and Simon Bachawati, GRSP MENA Region Coordinator, headed to Tunis and met on February 4, 2013 with concerned stakeholders, headed by the EU MENA project delegates in-country. Also in attendance were the Director Generals of SORETRAS and representatives from the National Observatory for Road Safety (ONSR), the Technical Agency for Land Transport (ATTT), Tunisian Red Crescent, the Sfax Municipality, Vivo Energy and many NGOs working in the field of road safety.

The full day encounter saw attendees take part in a SWOT analysis of Tunisia road safety functions, discuss the road safety data available within SORETRAS and align the data with the objectives and targets of the pilot project.

The day was marked by a signature of a protocol between SORETRAS and Vivo Energy which will provide defensive driving training to SORETRAS drivers. GRSP MENA shall facilitate a knowledge exchange between SORETRAS and a European company with demonstrated expertise in the field of fleet safety.

The launching ceremony for the project is scheduled for the 1st week of April in collaboration with the EU delegation, the municipality of Sfax, Vivo Energy, the Tunisian Red Crescent and the SORETRAS administration and its employees.

The EU MENA programme is a one million Euros funded project spanning three years in: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority and Tunisia. It aims to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries in the beneficiary countries through:

• capacity building activities for key staff in the region;
• coordinated multi-sector and multi-disciplinary cooperation on road safety and sustainable mobility in the communities;
• the implementation of projects that are evidence based and results focused;
• the development of a transnational regional network on road safety with a shared vision for road safety;
• the production of road safety support tools for the region.

For more information please contact Mrs. Samar Abouraad, GRSP MENA Region Manager: samar.abouraad@ifrc.org.