By: Moses Kay Fembeh
Freetown, Sierra Leone — 12th November 2025, Abu-Bakarr Sheriff Esq., Secretary to the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA) and its Board, has completed the Executive Leadership Road Safety Course held in Mombasa, Kenya. The program, which concluded on Friday, 7th November 2025, brought together 43 senior road safety officials from seven African countries in the 3rd cohort of this continental leadership initiative.
The course, designed to strengthen leadership capacity in designing, advocating for, and implementing effective road safety programs and policies, was conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s International Injury Research Unit, in partnership with the Global Road Safety Partnership, the Initiative for Global Road Safety, and supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Spanning online and in-person sessions from September to November 2025, the program provided participants with a platform for strategic planning, leadership development, knowledge sharing, and evidence-based policymaking. It emphasised behavioural change, data-driven solutions, and the application of safe systems principles to reduce road trauma.
Dr. Abdulgafoor Bachani, Director of the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit, highlighted the significance of hosting the program in Africa for the first time with exclusively African participants. “This initiative equips senior road safety leaders with the tools to deliver measurable impact. We hope these discussions inspire lasting partnerships and accelerate progress toward safer, more resilient transport systems,” Dr. Bachani said.
Through the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), Bloomberg Philanthropies aims to reduce road crash fatalities and injuries by partnering with governments and non-state actors to strengthen policy, improve data systems, and implement effective interventions across the transport ecosystem.
Participants, including Mr. Sheriff, pledged to apply lessons from the training to enhance stakeholder coordination, align national road safety strategies with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and strengthen leadership at both national and local levels.
Reflecting on the experience, Abu-Bakarr Sheriff Esq. stated, “The intensive course provided me with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills to address road safety challenges. Learning from experienced tutors and interacting with road safety experts across Africa has enhanced my capacity to support actionable solutions to reduce road accident trauma and societal burden.”
He added, “The program enriched my understanding of road safety frameworks and equipped me with strategic leadership skills to engage partners towards the shared goal of minimising road accidents. I am grateful to the organisers, sponsors, and SLRSA Executive Director, James B. Bio, for this opportunity, and I am committed to sharing the knowledge gained with colleagues and stakeholders across Sierra Leone.”
This milestone reflects SLRSA’s ongoing commitment to building national and regional road safety capacity and promoting data-driven, sustainable interventions to reduce road traffic injuries and fatalities across Africa.
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