The Alliance of Sahel States (AES), comprising Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, is set to develop a unified strategy for addressing one of the region’s most pressing public health and infrastructure challenges.
From 14 to 16 May 2025, road safety experts and government representatives from the three countries are meeting in Bamako, Mali, for a high-level technical session aimed at harmonising national policies and coordinating regional efforts to address road safety crisis.
Chaired by Malian Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Dembélé Madina Sissoko, the discussions also extend to the social policy dimension of road safety.
The gathering comes amid a surge in traffic-related fatalities and injuries across the region. In 2024, Mali reported 7,673 road accidents, resulting in 682 deaths and over 8,800 injuries.
Burkina Faso recorded 619 deaths from more than 13,000 incident interventions, while Niamey’s municipal police in Niger reported 5,124 accidents between January and October, causing 96 deaths and nearly 3,400 injuries. These statistics reflect only part of the picture, as many rural incidents go unreported.
Beyond the tragic human toll, the economic impact is significant. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that road accidents cost sub-Saharan African countries between 2% and 3% of their GDP annually.
Proposed measures include standardising highway codes, cross-training enforcement officers, launching shared accident databases, and implementing joint awareness campaigns. Niger’s pilot programme for digital accident geolocation is under review as a potential model for replication in the other AES countries.
