17 November 2021 – The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean is organizing a virtual regional launch of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 and its Global Plan on 25 November 2021. The event coincides with the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, which is commemorated in the month of November every year by countries across the world.
Twenty-five years ago, in 2005 the Day was officially endorsed by Member States of the United Nations in 2005, as an annual and “appropriate acknowledgement for victims of road traffic crashes and their families” across the world. In 2021, the World Remembrance Day calls on the world to; Remember those who lost their lives to the roads; Support those who are in grief and those who endure long-lasting consequences of the trauma they experience and Act to prevent these crashes and respond to their detrimental impacts. The regional launch thus focuses on action for road safety as a shared responsibility, in line with regional Vision 2023, which calls for solidarity and action towards Health for All by All.
You can register for the regional launch here: https://who.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYlf-yqqzIiE9x8uo5aaIaFLmy9xQi4WhTY
The new Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 was endorsed by United Nations General Assembly resolution A/74/L.86 ‘Improving global road safety’ with a global target of reducing road traffic deaths and serious injuries by at least 50% by 2030. The resolution also requested WHO and the UN regional commissions, in cooperation with the UN Road Safety Collaboration, to develop a plan of action for the Decade and calls for the commemoration of the World Day of Remembrance every year.
The new Global Plan advocates for safe and affordable transport with access to all. It links road safety with other development agenda issues such as sustainable cities, COVID-19 recovery and technology. The plan focusses on the safe system approach and emphasizes the importance of policies to promote walking, cycling and using public transport as inherently healthy and environmentally sound modes of transport, in alignment with the 2020 Stockholm Declaration. It also calls for continued improvements in the road infrastructure and vehicles; enhancement of laws and their enforcement; and the provision of timely, life-saving post-crash response.
The global and regional launch of the Decade and its plan is another steppingstone on the way to the upcoming UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting, scheduled for 2022, on improving global road safety with a view to addressing gaps and challenges as well as mobilizing political leadership and promoting multisectoral and multi-stakeholder integrated action and collaboration.
Related links
World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims
Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030
UN Resolution 74/299 "Improving global road safety"
Global status report on road safety 2018
Documenting road safety: a guide for governments and lead agencies
Strategic action framework to improve access to assistive technology in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
