CITA contributes to Road Safety Training Programme in Djibouti
CITA participated in the “Programme de formation à la gestion de la sécurité routière et à la résilience des routes” held in Djibouti from 20 to 23 September 2026, contributing its expertise on vehicle inspection systems and safer vehicles.
The programme was developed in response to a request from the Government of Djibouti to strengthen the capacities of the Djiboutian Roads Agency (ADR) and key road safety stakeholders. Funded by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), the initiative is being implemented in partnership with the Government of Djibouti, through ADR, the World Bank Group, the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF), the Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP) and the African Road Safety Observatory (AfRSO).
The four-day programme addresses road safety from a comprehensive perspective, covering institutional management, climate resilience, road safety data, safer vehicles, safer roads and mobility, safer road users and post-crash response. It also has a strong practical connection with Djibouti’s Regional Economic Corridor Project and the rehabilitation of the RN1, the country’s strategic road link between the Port of Djibouti and Ethiopia.
On 21 September, CITA was represented online by Eduard Fernández, Executive Director, who contributed to the programme’s “Safer Vehicles” module. His intervention focused on the application of the CITA AVIS methodology and on the financial viability of vehicle inspection systems, as foreseen in the programme.
During his presentation, Fernández highlighted that vehicle regulatory schemes remain fundamentally a responsibility of the State: they are mandatory, involve the exercise of public authority, and require governments to remain responsible even where certain activities are outsourced.
A central message was the importance of governance in translating regulatory requirements into effective implementation. Any regulatory system needs clearly defined governance arrangements and adequate resources for supervision. At the same time, vehicle inspection systems need to be realistic and flexible, allowing for the progressive improvement of the vehicle fleet while adapting to fleet growth, available human and technical resources, infrastructure and changes in the regulatory framework.
CITA’s participation in the Djibouti programme reflects its commitment to supporting the development of effective, sustainable and well-governed vehicle inspection systems as an integral component of broader road safety strategies.
About CITA AVIS (Assessment Vehicle Inspection System)
CITA AVIS and AVIS Scoring are methodologies used to assess vehicle technical inspection systems. While AVIS provides a qualitative assessment, AVIS Scoring combines qualitative and quantitative approaches and evaluates how an inspection system works not only in theory, but also in practice.
The assessment covers seven areas: general rules and systems, impartiality and anti-corruption, supervision, exercise of authority, vehicle scope, inspection content and methods, and inspector qualifications.
By comparing the regulatory framework with its implementation on the ground, AVIS can help authorities identify areas for improvement and establish measurable objectives for the development of their vehicle inspection systems.