| dc.description.abstract | Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) in the context of road safety is a critical component
of an overarching strategy aimed at reducing traffic incidents and improving road user safety.
The problem of poor road safety data persists in Africa. Reliable data are indispensable for
understanding the dynamics of road traffic crashes, formulating appropriate interventions, and
evaluating the effectiveness of policies and programs. This study aimed to assess the influence
of M&E practices on road safety data quality in Africa, focusing on seven selected African
countries (Cameroon, Kenya, Lesotho, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Ghana, and Burundi). This
study was guided by three specific research objectives: determining the influence of data
collection on road safety data quality in Africa, establishing the influence of resource allocation
on road safety data quality in Africa, and assessing the influence of M&E staff expertise on
road safety data quality in Africa. To achieve the stated objectives, this study adopted a mixedmethod descriptive research design using quantitative and qualitative approaches. The target
population in this study comprised road safety agencies and ministries in the selected countries,
such as the road safety lead agency, Police, Health, Transport, and road safety NGO. The study
adopted a stratified purposive and convenience sampling technique through which the
respondents were selected. A sample size of 129 individuals was derived from the target
population (180) using stratified purposive and convenience sampling. A questionnaire survey
with Likert-scale questions for quantitative data and open-ended questions for qualitative data
was used for data collection from respondents. Quantitative data were analyzed through
descriptive and inferential statistics using Excel and SmartPLS4, and the results are presented
in tables and figures. Qualitative reports were analyzed thematically in line with the study
objectives, and the results were presented in summary essay forms. The major findings based
on the three objectives of this study were a statistically significant positive influence of data
collection (β = 0.462, p < 0.05, f² = 0.341), resource allocation (β = 0.258, p < 0.05, f² = 0.111)
and M&E staff expertise (β = 0.224, p < 0.05, f² = 0.093) on road safety data quality. This is
supported by key qualitative results that point to underreporting, inconsistent data collection,
outdated technology, limited resources, lack of standardization, and inadequate training and
capacity building for M&E staff. As this study has shown a statistically significant positive
relationship between M&E practices and road safety data quality in the selected African
countries, a key recommendation is that future studies should investigate and develop a detailed
M&E framework to guide African countries in improving road safety data quality. The
framework should aim to guide road safety stakeholders not only in tailoring global road safety
indicators to their country contexts, but also in practically monitoring and evaluating their road
safety progress towards achieving set targets. Other recommendations have been made to
improve the M&E practices (data collection, resource allocation, and M&E staff expertise) to
boost the quality of road safety data in Africa. | en_US |
