15 May 2015 – The Greater Amman Municipality, Ministry of Health, World Health Organization, the Royal Health Awareness Society and Jordan Traffic Institute organized a Road Safety event under the umbrella of 3rd UN Global Road Safety Week 2015 under the theme of “Children and Road Safety”, this event gathered 150 students selected from 6 schools in Amman, aimed to raise awareness and encourage local leaders to improve road safety for children.

The event took place at Telaa Al Ali Traffic Park on 7 May under the patronage of Amman Mayor Mr Akel Biltaji, embraced educational and entertaining activities, all revolved around road safety awareness. The program kicked off with three educational sessions presented by Jordan Traffic Institute, followed by “Sesame Street” play along with an interactive questions and answers session.

According to a 2014 study conducted by the Jordan Traffic Institute—the kingdom’s official road safety information and statistics provider—an overall 217 individuals aged between 1 and 17 years died due to road accidents in 2014, while 4132 slight to severe injuries were reported.

World Health Representative to Jordan Dr Maria Cristina Profili said that the UN Global Road Safety Week provided a unique opportunity to advocate for improved safety on the roads and to renew commitment and efforts at all levels, in order to help save thousands of lives.

“Of the 186 300 annual global road traffic deaths among children, 26 623 (about 14%) occur in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Males account for 66.8% of these deaths. Road traffic injury ranks among the top regional causes of death for children and young people over the age of 5 years. A child is someone under the age of 18 years as defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child” Dr Profili added.

The Director General of the Royal Health Awareness Society Ms Enaam Barrishi, commented on this year’s road safety campaign saying: “Our latest campaign reflects our eagerness to promote a healthy and safe environment for our children to prosper in.The Society will continue to launch such campaigns as road safety is a serious issue that is likely to grow significantly in the immediate future, if we don’t’ act now”.

This week contributes to achievement of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020 which aims to save 5 million lives across the world.

#SaveKidsLives is the worldwide and official campaign for the Third United Nations Global Road Safety Week (4-10 May 2015). The campaign is calling for action to save children’s lives on the roads around the world. It does so by highlighting the plight of children on the roads; generating worldwide action to better ensure the safety of children on the roads; and calling for inclusion of safe and sustainable transport in the post-2015 development agenda. The campaign operates on the principles of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 and is managed by a broad coalition of members from the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration.