Goma, 19th june 2017 – Monusco Transport Section in Goma (Nord-Kivu) has launched a road safety campaign to span from Monday 19 to the 25 of June 2017 particularly for the eastern part of the DRC.

The campaign, organized with the support of the Senior management and  DMS, aims at  increasing the awareness of MONUSCO personnel, both civilian and military, on the safety of driving in order to reduce traffic accidents and improve the image Of the Monusco on the roads of the DRC, vis a vis the populations.
According to Transport Section in Goma, this includes the respect of the speed limits, to the use of the seat belts, as well as respect for pedestrians and cyclists.

The nationwide campaign, including Kigali and Entebbe, where MONUSCO bases are located, is supported by two regional pools.

The Campaign kicked off last Monday, for all the East and Kinshasa for the West. The start of the campaign for the Western part of the country is scheduled to take place from 26 to 2 July.

The Campaign action plans comprises amongst others a series of briefings and presentation on road safety to be held in the  regions and mission Head Quarters through induction courses, a series of road safety broadcasts to be sent out on  regularly basis to all staff including computer pop ups advising all drivers on the trust areas.
-Military Police to establish random vehicle check points that may include the use of speed radar guns and calibrated Breathalyzer.
-Safety Campaign banners and posters on defined trust areas to be displaced in all MONUSCO compounds.
-Road Safety T-Shirts, pamphlets, stickers, Drivers Hand book to be given to all drivers at the entrance of each MONUSCO compound and the display of damaged UN Vehicles in mot frequented compounds.

It should be noted that for the year 2014-2015, civilians and military personnel were involved in at least 159 accidents. But thanks to this campaign started last year, a significant reduction in these accidents was achieved at least by 30 per cent.

Monusco's leadership believes that more effort is needed in this awareness campaign to significantly reduce these accidents.

Martha Motoko Biongo