Kampala leaders advocate for more car-free days in city centre

Kabuye Kyofatogabye, the state minister for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs, has urged city dwellers to embrace leaving cars at home for some days and walk on the streets as a way to improve their health.

He said this on March 26 during the first-ever car-free day in Kampala. The day was marked under the theme Road Safety and Air Quality. Walking is one of the ways to avoid non-communicable diseases (NCDs) arising from overweight, high cholesterol and lack of exercise.

“As KCCA, we introduced a car-free day as a way of improving the health of city dwellers since many people are dying of NCDs that are related to air pollution from cars and motorcycles and also not doing enough exercises like walking,” he said.

“Kampala is one of the cities in the world with the worst air quality. By having a car-free day, we are cutting down on the level of air pollution and recognizing other road users like people with disabilities (PWDs), children and pregnant mothers,” he said.

“We are also trying to protect the environment from vehicle emissions, which compromise the quality of the air quality. We have managed to enjoy uncontaminated air free of chemicals that cause lung-related diseases,” Kabuye said.

Research by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that car and industrial pollution are linked to cancer, cardiovascular diseases and respiratory illnesses such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which impair lung function and cause lung cancer.

WHO research shows that outdoor urban air pollution, mostly from vehicles and factories, accounts for the premature deaths of 1,340,000 people annually. WHO research also explains that, to put it another way, “it is as if 55 buses, each carrying 65 passengers, crash daily with no survivors.”

Some studies also show that air pollution is responsible for low birth weight and stillbirths. Kabuye added that the car-free day also aims at making streets walkable and promoting a mindset change towards non-motorized movement.

David Luyimbazi, the KCCA deputy executive director, said going forward, car-free days will encourage people to experience the city in a unique and healthy way as well as promote road safety since people can move freely without fear of cars knocking them down.

Meanwhile, Winstone Katushabe, the commissioner of Transport Regulation and Safety in the ministry of Works and Transport, said walking reduces the risk of heart disease like high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke.

“Walking helps people gain health benefits by fighting NCDs like cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes. It also helps people learn to respect other road users like pedestrians, cyclists, children and pregnant women,” he said.

“It has been a family day out; people came with their families to exercise and interact with others on the streets; children played in the middle of the roads since vehicles didn’t access the designated car-free areas,” Katushabe added.