By: Audrey Raymonda John
The initiative of a Highway Management Unit by the Executive Director of Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority, Reverend Smart K. Senesie, to swiftly respond to road accident victims has received a major boost from the National Emergency Medical Service (NEMS) with the donation of an ambulance to professionally handle victims in the country.
The establishment of the Highway Management Unit is in line with Pilar 5 of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The Chief Executive Officer of NEMS, Mr Abdul Rahman Wurie, said he was very pleased with the work of SLRSA and assured of his full support to the Authority at all times.
SLRSA Executive Director, Reverend Smart K. Senesie said the SLRSA has done a lot in addressing road safety issues in the country but the management of the country’s highways to respond to road accident victims was a challenge.
He thanked NEMS for the donation and reiterated that the ambulance will be used for the intended purpose.
Since his appointment in early 2021, Reverend Senesie has been knocking on doors to solicit support for the establishment of a highway management unit and the construction of emergency hospitals along accident-prone areas. With this donation, he will go down in history as the first Executive Director to establish a post-crash response unit.
This is a major step in mitigating the impact of road carnage in Sierra Leone.