Safe Schools Africa

Billions of US dollars are invested in road development projects in Africa each year. Yet, despite existing safeguards, dangerous roads are still being designed and built.

Traditionally, the focus of road engineers in Africa has been on providing for vehicles – even though only a minority of people own cars. As a result, the design and construction of many roads do not accommodate the majority of road users – those who walk, take public minibuses and motorcycle taxis, or cycle.

With little protection for non-motorized users, and often ineffective control of vehicle speeds where pedestrians and vehicles interact, pedestrians – especially children – are at great risk.

The Safe Schools Africa program aims to create roads where children can walk safely, thereby also improving their health, well-being, and the environment. The program builds on over twenty years of experience implementing a variety of initiatives to address the child road traffic injury epidemic in Africa, including Amend’s award-winning and proven-effective School Area Road Safety Assessments and Improvements program (SARSAI).

SARSAI focuses on separating children from traffic and reducing vehicle speeds where children and traffic do interact with infrastructure interventions such as school fencing, repositioned entrances, footpaths, traffic calming measures, signage, designated pedestrian crossings, and more.

Safe Schools Africa currently operates under two core components, supported by complementary advocacy and capacity-building work:

• Technical Assistance for Safe School Infrastructure: Working directly with road project teams, including government road agencies, consultants, contractors, and development bank staff, to embed child safety into road designs from planning through design to construction.
• Installation of Safe School Zones: Using the SARSAI methodology to identify high-risk schools, then designing and installing lifesaving pedestrian infrastructure, in coordination with government authorities.
• Advocacy, Capacity Development, and Knowledge Sharing: These include infrastructure ribbon-cutting events, six-monthly Regional Forums, support for manuals and guidelines, and presentations at international conferences, all aimed at building the capacity of officials and influencing road safety funding and policy.

As of 2026, the Safe Schools Africa program has led to the provision of safe infrastructure around hundreds of schools across 14 countries in Africa, benefiting hundreds of thousands of school children and millions of local community members.

The full Safe Schools Africa prospectus is available to download in English and French.