UNICEF urges Uganda to strengthen child road safety

What the report says

The Independent Uganda, citing URN, reported that UNICEF has called on Uganda to intensify measures to protect children on the roads after a series of crashes involving learners. UNICEF Representative to Uganda Dr. Robin Nandy said in a statement that the agency was grieving with families, schools and communities affected by recent accidents, and argued that child deaths on roads should be treated as preventable rather than inevitable.

The appeal follows several incidents linked to school travel. The report highlighted the King David Junior School bus crash in Kapchorwa District, where 24 people died, including 21 pupils and the school’s founder and director, Tadeo Ssekade, after a trip to Sipi Falls. It also cited a bus-train collision in Mukono that killed a student and a teacher, and another crash near Busota that injured many learners.

In response, the Ministry of Education and Sports suspended school educational trips and tours nationwide. Acting Education Minister Dr. John Chrysostom Muyingo instructed schools already away on trips to seek help at the nearest police station before returning. Government has also begun reviewing school tour guidelines issued in May 2025, with an inter-ministerial committee expected to propose stricter rules on vehicle checks, driver standards, supervision and trip management.

UNICEF welcomed the government action but said broader road safety reforms are needed, including lower speeds near schools, safer pedestrian crossings and walking routes, and stronger emergency care. The agency said road safety is tied to children’s rights to survival, education and a safe environment. The report also cited UNICEF’s global warning that road traffic injuries are a leading cause of death for children and adolescents aged five to 19, and Ugandan Traffic Police figures indicating at least two schoolchildren die on the country’s roads daily.