GHAI’s Road Safety Team and BIGRS partners convened a workshop on road safety policy gaps, opportunities and the way forward at Safety 2026.
The Global Health Advocacy Incubator’s (GHAI) road safety team joined colleagues and partners from across the injury prevention and road safety community at the 16th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion (Safety 2026) in South Africa.
The conference offered a valuable opportunity for the team to learn from diverse perspectives across the injury prevention field while strengthening connections with organizations and experts working to address road traffic injuries. It was particularly timely as GHAI begins supporting road safety civil society organizations in South Africa through the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS).
Bringing partners together for a continental conversation
Alongside BIGRS partners, including the Global Road Safety Partnership, Vital Strategies and the World Health Organization, the GHAI Road Safety team coordinated a workshop on the sidelines of the conference focused on policy gaps, opportunities and the way forward for road safety. The workshop brought together civil society organizations, government representatives, academia and other road safety stakeholders for an interactive discussion on how to strengthen road safety policy and advocacy.
Panelists from the Africa Road Safety Observatory, Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (Viet Nam), Global New Car Assessment Programme, Kenya National Transport Safety Authority, TANDEM (Ecuador) and Addis Ababa University shared experiences and insights from their respective contexts, contributing to a broader continental conversation about the challenges and opportunities in advancing road safety policies.
Participants also explored opportunities for collaboration around four key questions: how to deepen regional advocacy for motorcycle safety; how to align infrastructure with safer speed policies and the Safe System approach; how to shift road safety narratives from individual responsibility toward collective action and systemic policy change; and how to sustain advocacy efforts after policies are passed and adopted.
Sharing perspectives from GHAI’s road safety work
The GHAI road safety team also presented at the conference , sharing perspectives on some of the critical issues shaping road safety policy and advocacy. Presentations included :
Commercial Determinants of Road Safety: Recognizing and Countering Industry Influence
From “Accidents” to Accountability: Media Framing and Public Support for Road Safety Policy
From Policy Adoption to Policy Protection: Defending Road Safety Gains Through Strategic Litigation and Adaptive Advocacy
Navigating the Lifecycle, Capacities, and Challenges of Multisectoral Road Safety Coalitions
The Cost of Inaction: Corporate Influence, Road Traffic Injuries, and the Economic Imperative for Regulation
Maria N’kalubo (top) and Sachin Juneja (bottom) with GHAI’s road safety team at Safety 2026, sharing insights on coalition-building and motorcycle safety advocacy.
Together, these discussions highlighted many dimensions of advancing road safety, from protecting children and adolescents and addressing motorcycle-related risks to strengthening coalitions, countering industry influence, protecting policy gains and using strategic communications to build public support.
Learning and looking ahead
Safety 2026 was about both sharing knowledge and gaining new perspectives. The conference provided an opportunity to better understand the broader injury prevention landscape, learn more about advocacy opportunities in South Africa and strengthen relationships with current and prospective partners. As GHAI begins expanding its road safety support in South Africa, these connections and insights will help inform our work with civil society and other stakeholders working to advance evidence-based policies and build safer road systems.
The experience reinforced an important lesson: progress in road safety depends on bringing together evidence, advocacy, political will, communications and collaboration and connecting those efforts to the policies and decisions that can save lives.
The Global Health Advocacy Incubator’s (GHAI) road safety team joined colleagues and partners from across the injury prevention and road safety community at the 16th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion (Safety 2026) in South Africa.
The conference offered a valuable opportunity for the team to learn from diverse perspectives across the injury prevention field while strengthening connections with organizations and experts working to address road traffic injuries. It was particularly timely as GHAI begins supporting road safety civil society organizations in South Africa through the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS).
You're invited to celebrate the graduation of the 2025-2026 cohort of the CSO Budget Advocacy Accelerator: September 15, 2026 at 9:00 AM ET | 2:00 PM UTC. RSVP here.
Ahead of the ceremony, here's a look at what this cohort achieved.
Over 10 months, GHAI's Advocacy Accelerator strengthened the capacity of 12 civil society organizations (CSOs) from 11 countries across Africa and Asia to influence domestic health financing, combining hands-on learning, expert mentorship and peer exchange. Through capstone projects spanning cardiovascular health, drowning prevention, health security, mental health, road safety and tobacco control, this cohort achieved concrete results.
