Global Youth Coalition Member Feature: Besung Albright Ngum-Numfor

1. Where are you connected right now? Tell us about the work you're doing.
I am a Cameroonian civil engineer in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s project of inclusive and resilient cities C2D Maroua. I currently volunteer as a core team member, for the International Road Safety Assessment Programme - iRAP as the assessment coordinator and education team lead of the Waka Fine to School and Youth for Post-Crash Care Project, one of the Youth Coalition’s Local Actions projects for 2023. The project focuses on road safety education, safe school zones, public awareness campaigns and post-crash care.

2. How did you first get involved in road safety and how long have you been working in the road safety and sustainable mobility field?
A little over a year ago, I joined an iRAP road safety course that changed my life. Through it, I got to identify a global challenge I could help solve; road traffic crashes. The International Women's Day Award 2022 was also something that gave me exposure and access to valuable knowledge and skills for creating road safety solutions. Since then, I continued to improve my knowledge and actively serve in the road safety field.

3. Can you tell us a little about your area's road safety and sustainable mobility situation?
This overview references the problem tree analysis of Cameroon's situation, namely the main problem, its causes, and its effects.

The challenge of safe mobility and road safety is that it is not adequately addressed by the relevant parties and key stakeholders despite it being a fundamental concern in the expansion and maintenance of Cameroon's transport networks. This results from the lack of a leading organization or road safety lead agency that has access to significant resources.

Because of the lack of resources, the National Road Safety and Prevention Strategy is not widely disseminated and utilized by these stakeholders, leading to an increase in road traffic injuries (RTIs) that result in an average of 16,583 road accidents annually. This was already included in Cameroon's 2018 UN Road Safety Performance Report as one of the areas that needed to be strengthened to better meet the challenge of sustainable mobility. I quote, "lack of a leading organization, or 'road safety lead agency,' with significant resources (legal, human, material, and financial), capable of offering a reflection on road issues and coordinating ongoing actions with a certain level of cohesion to benefit from the interventions of the parties involved." Given all this, crucial steps need to be taken to actually walk the talk.

4. Why do you think including young people in local and global road safety efforts is important?
To actually walk the talk, nations need to include young people to benefit from their innovative minds, their numbers, and vibrancy. Sustainable solutions should involve youth because they are the generations of tomorrow and will raise and lead the coming generations. To bring the paradigm shift and behaviour change towards road safety, this group needs to be actively involved as they are the most at risk as statistics prove

5. Are there any other updates on your work you would like to share?
Yes, through our Local Action project, we have been able to reach out and recruit over 50 youths in Cameroon to embrace the road safety cause and actively serve in solving issues around it. It is a good step towards increased awareness among youth and the creation of evidence-based solutions for our local municipalities for infrastructure improvements.

As a member of the 2023 Cohort for the Local Pathway Fellows (LPF) Program under the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Youth, I continue to improve my understanding of urban-related issues so that I can acquire a more holistic view of urban development issues.

This fellowship catalyzes the proposed RSLA solution to be adopted by local governments and the community. It also teaches participants best practices for partnering with the government and other stakeholders to adopt and implement solutions to urban challenges, particularly urban transportation. I'll be able to become an expert in project customization, networking, and capacity building as a result.

6. Why did you join the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety?
I first joined for its rich educational courses to deepen my road safety knowledge. From this, I found a group whose message I strongly resonate with and could join. We as youth call on decision-makers to be accountable and involve youth rather than blame them. The “enough is enough” cry isn’t one to be voiced out alone and will have more impact if we implore our vibrancy and use our numbers.

7. What are your comments on the Youth Coalition? Its activities? Its opportunities?
I applaud the Youth Coalition for taking the front to make our cry known to the authorities and for empowering youth to advocate for road safety. Most importantly, I want to commend the Youth Coalition for their Local Actions initiative which gives youth the opportunity to implement their solutions.

8. Any messages for people who have not yet joined the Youth Coalition?
Road safety is for you, about you, and involves you! The strength of this Youth Coalition can be seen in each young person involved. Come get empowered, raise awareness, advocate and improve safe road user behaviour. Pay it forward. The kick to set the road safety ball rolling in your community could come from you!