Attempts to reduce the endemic of deaths and injuries caused by road traffic collisions in Malawi can be viewed as an excellent example of trying to address a ‘wicked problem’:...Read More
Attempts to reduce the endemic of deaths and injuries caused by road traffic collisions in Malawi can be viewed as an excellent example of trying to address a ‘wicked problem’: a problem with many interdependent factors making the problem appearing almost impossible to solve.
Meeting with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
The Chitetezo team met with key development agencies in Lilongwe, at a meeting hosted by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), at the British High Commission on the 23rd of September 2024. The FCDO had previously learnt about the Chitetezo project’s work on road safety awareness raising in schools and road traffic collision spatial data analysis in Blantyre, through the ’Safe Roads Africa’ website where the project team regularly posts updates on ongoing activities.
Reducing road traffic injuries and deaths is part of FCDO’s ending preventable deaths policy. In Malawi, road traffic injuries are the number one cause of death and the second cause of disability in children aged 5-14 years. The team was invited to present its work to FCDO and other institutions working on different aspects of road safety in Malawi such as the World Bank, LION Hospital and the Traction programme. The focus of the meeting was to understand the various road safety initiatives underway in Malawi and explore opportunities for collaboration, including potential funding options to roll out Chitetezo to more schools and improve traffic collision digital data collection. The meeting attendees agreed to continue fostering collaboration and to align efforts with ongoing initiatives aimed improving road safety in Malawi, such as the World Bank’s DRIVER programme (https://bit.ly/4ftcASU) .
During the visit, the Chitetezo team were also delighted to meet informally with Ms Fiona Ritchie, the British High Commissioner to Malawi, at a Kabaza Safety Awareness campaign rally – an initiative raising awareness of the dangers and impact of Kabaza (motorcycles) on road safety in Malawi.

Chitetezo team at the British High Commission in Lilongwe, Malawi.

The Chitetezo team with Ms Fiona Ritchie, the British High Commissioner and FCDO consultant at the Kabaza rally.