News Summary:
- Transaid and the FIA Foundation, alongside Ghana’s National Road Safety Authority, convened the 2026 Safe African Helmets Initiative Summit in Accra, Ghana, bringing together government officials, road safety experts and development partners.
- Representatives from eight African countries explored practical solutions to improve motorcycle helmet safety, focusing on standards, enforcement, affordability, crash data, and private sector engagement.
- The event builds on commitments made at the 2025 summit in Nairobi, strengthening regional collaborations to increase access to quality helmets and reduce preventable deaths and serious injury.
Transaid, in conjunction with the FIA Foundation, has successfully hosted the 2026 Safe African Helmets Initiative (SAHI) Summit in Accra, Ghana, bringing together government representatives, road safety specialists and development partners to accelerate action on motorcycle helmet safety across sub-Saharan Africa.
As motorcycle use continues to grow across the continent for both passenger transport and the movement of goods, improving helmet safety remains a critical road safety challenge. Participants across the three days (19 – 21 August) highlighted the urgent need for coordinated action to address the rising death toll and serious injuries associated with motorcycle crashes.
Building on the discussions and commitments made during the 2025 SAHI Summit in Nairobi, this year’s event focused on key themes including helmet standards and regulation, crash data collection, enforcement strategies, helmet affordability, supply chain challenges, and private sector engagement. Participants examined practical approaches to improving helmet safety and reducing fatalities through a combination of presentations, technical workshops, policy roundtables, and an in-country demonstration of new enforcement strategies.
Speaking following the conclusion of the SAHI Summit, Sam Clark, Head of Programmes for Transaid, says: “Motorcycles are an essential part of Africa’s transport network, supporting livelihoods and providing vital mobility for millions of people daily. Their rapid growth has highlighted an urgent need to improve rider and passenger safety. The Summit brings countries together to share practical solutions, learn from one another and build the partnerships needed to expand access to quality helmets and reduce preventable deaths and serious injuries.”
FIA Foundation Programmes Director, Aggie Krasnolucka, adds: “Motorcycle safety requires action across the whole system – from legislation and standards to testing, enforcement, procurement and access to affordable quality helmets. SAHI provides an important space for countries to share practical experience and work together on the solutions needed to prevent deaths and serious injuries.”
In his opening address, Hon. Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff to the President of Ghana, says: “Motorcycles have become indispensable across our continent. They connect communities, move goods, help traders reach markets, and create livelihoods for many young people. In some places, they are the quickest way to reach a school, a clinic, or a workplace. This is Africa’s mobility reality. Together we can advance the global goal of halving road deaths and injuries by 2030 and build transport systems that place human life at the centre. Every head deserves a safe helmet, every journey deserves a safe return, and every life saved is a family kept home.”
Speaking at the event, Hon. Joseph Bukari Nikpe, Ghana’s Minister of Transport, said: “On the standard and quality of the helmet, it is a bitter irony that a rider may obey the laws by wearing a helmet, yet perish because the helmet itself was not designed to save a life. The Safe African Helmet Initiative is more than a technical engagement. It is an expression of continental solidarity: No African country will resolve this problem alone. It is when we work together that we will be able to overcome this.”
Key outcomes from the summit include a renewed commitment to collaboration between participating countries and partners, alongside the development of a clear roadmap to support future progress. Delegates also highlighted the need for continued investment in helmet safety initiatives, stronger enforcement of existing legislation and greater availability of affordable, compliant helmets.
During the event, Aggie Krasnolucka, FIA Foundation Programmes Director, Caroline Barber, Transaid Chief Executive, and Hon. Joseph Bukari Nikpe, Ghana’s Minister of Transport, signed a charter, affirming a shared commitment to supporting Ghana’s motorcycle helmet progress.
The three-day summit involved eight participating countries, including Benin, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda. Representatives were also in attendance from the African Road Safety Observatory, the FIA, the Global Road Safety Partnership, the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety, The George Institute for Global Health and other key stakeholders.
For more information and to find out how you can support the organisation visit www.transaid.org.
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Note to Editor:
About Transaid
Transaid transforms lives through safe, available, and sustainable transport. Founded by Save the Children, The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), and its Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, the international development organisation works with communities, partners, and governments to solve transport challenges throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Transaid works in two core areas, road safety and access to health, to solve two of the biggest transport challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. Transaid’s road safety work focuses on influencing safe driver behaviour with long term programmes in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, responding to local needs for improved training for drivers and riders of trucks, buses, motorcycles and forklift trucks. On the access to health side, Transaid is working with local partners and communities to strengthen access to health services, primarily in rural areas. They are also working to strengthen health supply chains in collaboration with local partners and governments.
Transaid enjoys strong backing from the transport and logistics industry and the active involvement of its patron, HRH The Princess Royal.
About the Safe African Helmets Initiative (SAHI)
The SAHI Summit builds on the initiative’s work since its inception in 2024 to provide a pan-African platform for sharing experience, identifying barriers and building consensus around action on motorcycle helmet safety, including high-level national advocacy, data collection, helmet testing and enforcement. SAHI is convened by the FIA Foundation and Transaid.
For further press information:
Maddy Matheson at Transaid: +44 (0)20 7387 8136 / maddy@transaid.org
Natalie Ganshert or James Keeler at Garnett Keeler PR: +44 (0)20 8647 4467, or by email to natalie.ganshert@garnettkeeler.com / james.keeler@garnettkeeler.com
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