Challenges

Deaths from traffic accidents continue to represent a significant burden of mortality in Costa Rica and the Dominican Re According to the World Health Organization (WHO) World Road Safety Report 2015, mortality from this cause in the Dominican Republic in 2013 was 29.3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, with approximately 3,000 people loosing their lives in traffic accidents. In Costa Rica, between 2000 and 2009, the death rate fluctuated between 14 and 17 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Toward a Solution

This cooperation initiative by Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic shares knowledge, skills and expertise to strengthen the stewardship of the institutions responsible for road safety to help reduce deaths, injuries and property damage related to traffic accidents. The two countries, with support from PAHO/WHO, have identified specific capacities that can benefit from the two countries sharing their individual and mutual experiences. Included are areas such as data processing and analysis to facilitate timely solutions aimed at increasing road safety and improved technical inspection of vehicles, with a focus on sharing good practices and promoting safe driving.

The countries jointly developed a schedule of activities and tasks related to the proposed objectives and outcomes. Cooperation has been based on direct horizontal relationships. In Costa Rica, COSEVI has shared its knowledge, technologies and experiences with INTRANT in the Dominican Republic, which has recently assumed its stewardship role in road safety. Likewise, COSEVI will be able to receive feedback from INTRANT’s activities, and thus revise its own processes and procedures.

The control, monitoring and evaluation of this project have been conducted with close communication between the two countries. Every six months, project progress was measured and the necessary corrective actions taken in the shortest possible time. An evaluation is planned that will show results, limitations, key success factors, lessons learned and recommendations.

A substantial amount of knowledge and experience was shared between the two countries, facilitating much of the work. Barriers and facilitating factors were identified. The main lesson learned at this point is that commitment to the project on the part of the two countries has made it possible to continue important activities that would otherwise have been unlikely in conditions as difficult as those of 2020 and 2021. The activities were carried out within heavy constraints, adapting the pace to what is possible in the pandemic context. Both countries adapted to the situation, working individually and together.

This innovative initiative in South-South Cooperation on an issue such as road safety has also been innovative in terms of looking for possible adaptations and restructuring to address the limitations on travel and in-person work caused by the pandemic. These adaptive actions have added a replicable dimension to the project that may not have been initially considered, since achieving objectives without traveling serves as an example for possible cooperation between other countries at a greater geographical distance from each other.

As a result of this exchange, the following achievements can behighlighted:

• The Dominican Republic launched its technical vehicle inspection programme, for which Costa Rica provided technical advice based on its years of experience in this area.
• Costa Rica is sharing communication products through social media, drawing on the experiences of the Dominican Republic in this area.
• A Road Safety Observatory has been established to track and monitor progress on road safety. The observatory includes: (i) manuals, guides and regulations; (ii) plans for data collection, processing and analysis on injuries and fatalities from road traffic accidents; (iii) technical vehicle inspection programmes; and (iv) safer mobility and communication campaigns.
• A multistakeholder Technical Data Management Board made up of 19 institutions linked to the traffic, transportation, road safety and mobility sectors has been convened in the Dominican Re