Contribute to the promotion of safe, inclusive, and productive mobility in El Salvador, based on the use of technology and innovative tools that allow improving access to employment, entrepreneurship, and education opportunities, as well as the conditions of walkability in priority sectors (urban and rural) defined together with the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) and the Vice Ministry of Transportation (VMT).

Context and challenges. El Salvador has one of the highest mortality rates from road accidents in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) with 22,2 deaths per 100.000 inhabitants (against an average of 17.8 in LAC). In the last five years, figures of more than 1,200 deaths per year have been reported due to traffic accidents. 49% of the total annual deaths correspond to pedestrians, 32% to drivers and passengers of light vehicles and 14% correspond to drivers of motorized vehicles with two and three wheels.

Several factors contribute to the road safety problem. One of them, the growth of the vehicle fleet at an average rate of 8,3% per year in the last five years, motorcycles grow at a rate of approximately 20% per year (VMT, 2018). Additionally, the country barely has tools to monitor the infrastructure and norms to regulate standard designs for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists (WHO 2018). The combination of the aforementioned factors, as well as the insufficient technological and management tools, trigger an alarming situation in terms of mobility, road safety and inclusion of people, which is marked with greater emphasis in the main cities of the country, and with special attention to the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador that groups approximately 27% of the total population of the country (OPAMSS 2010).

The Government of Salvador is making efforts to reduce traffic accidents, injuries and deaths; however, these actions are not enough to address the magnitude of the problem. Due to this situation, the VMT and the National Road Safety Council (CONASEVI) have drawn up a National Road Safety Plan 2021-2030, which focuses on the attention of five strategies: (i) road safety management; (ii) safer roads and mobility; (iii) safer vehicles; (iv) safer road users; and (v) response capacity after accidents. As part of this plan, the VMT and CONASEVI have started activities to have the National Road Safety Observatory (ONASEVI), which include inter-institutional coordination to obtain information, systematization of some processes, among others.

Additionally, barriers to achieving inclusive mobility are identified: (i) the quality of transport services and infrastructure affects the mobility of its users, particularly women and the elderly; (ii) there is limited information on the mobility of user groups, such as women, people with disabilities, and the LGBTI population, among others; and (iii) users face a great challenge of personal insecurity in public transport.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IADB

The Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (MICI) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) or Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC)-funded project. If you submit a complaint to MICI, they may assist you in addressing the problems you raised through a dispute-resolution process with those implementing the project and/or through an investigation to assess whether the IDB or IIC is following its own policies for preventing or mitigating harm to people or the environment. You can submit a complaint by sending an email to MICI@iadb.org. You can learn more about the MICI and how to file a complaint at http://www.iadb.org/en/mici/mici,1752.html (in English) or http://www.iadb.org/es/mici/mici,1752.html (Spanish).