Supporting safer journeys to school for nearly 34,000 students through the GRSF–TotalEnergies Foundation partnership

For thousands of children in Tanzania, getting to school is one of the most dangerous parts of their day. Students often walk long distances along high-speed roads without sidewalks, safe crossings, or traffic calming measures. During the rainy season, poor road conditions can make access even more difficult—and sometimes prevent children from attending school altogether.

With support from the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) and the TotalEnergies Foundation, the World Bank is advancing a program to improve the safety of school journeys across 30 primary and secondary schools in five regions of Tanzania, covering routes used by approximately 34,000 students.

Building on an initial pilot in 2023, activities carried out over the past year have focused on understanding how children travel to school, identifying high-risk locations, and engaging with school communities, local authorities, and national institutions. This work has helped identify key safety risks along school routes, including unsafe crossings, high vehicle speeds, and the lack of pedestrian infrastructure. The urgency of action is clear: over a 12-month period, the selected schools recorded 105 student casualties along school journeys, including 7 fatalities.

The schools are part of the Safe School Program (SSP), implemented through World Bank–financed education projects—Boost Student Learning Outcomes (BOOST) and the Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project (SEQUIP). This effort is closely coordinated with World Bank–financed transport projects, helping ensure that road safety improvements around schools are addressed through both education and infrastructure investments.

Based on the risks identified, priority areas for intervention are now informing concrete actions. Infrastructure improvements are planned for implementation by 2027 and are being integrated into ongoing and upcoming World Bank–financed transport operations. These include targeted measures in high-risk areas such as footpaths, safer pedestrian crossings, traffic calming, improved signage, bollards, fencing, and safer school access points—aimed at reducing vehicle speeds and creating safer environments for children.

At the same time, non-infrastructure interventions are already underway through the SSP under the education projects. These include school-based road safety education, student road safety clubs, and awareness activities across participating schools. Building on these efforts, additional enhancements are being introduced to strengthen their impact, including the introduction of Kids Courts, the development of standardized Safe School Passage Plans, and targeted support to help students cross the roads safely in high-risk locations.

To complement these efforts, the program is also developing practical learning tools to support behavior change among students. Eight short safety animations, along with interactive “spot the risk” games, are completed and will be rolled out through the SSP to help children better understand risks and adopt safer behaviors during their daily journeys.

This work has brought together stakeholders from across sectors—including education authorities, local governments, road agencies, and traffic police—to strengthen coordination and support implementation. A recent national workshop provided an opportunity to review progress and align the next steps.

Implementation of infrastructure measures is expected to roll out over the coming years, while school-based activities continue to expand. Further updates will capture results and lessons learned as these interventions are put into practice.