Justina Asishana, Sweden
MORE road-related disasters will be recorded if nothing is done to address road safety across the world, as 500 million deaths and injuries have been projected to occur between 2020 to 2030.
These deaths and injuries, according to Ministers and Head of Delegations at the Third Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Sweden, are preventable if the government can make significant political commitment, leadership and greater action in the area of road safety at all levels in the next decade.
This was contained in the Stockholm Declaration issued at the end of the road safety conference in Sweden from February 19 to 20.
The declaration was endorsed by ministers, heads of delegations and representatives of international, regional and sub-regional governmental and non-governmental organisations and the private sector from 140 countries.
The statement acknowledged that collisions and accidents on roads are the leading cause of death for children and young adults between the ages of five to 29 years.
“We acknowledge the significant impact of road traffic crashes on children and youth and emphasise the importance of taking into account their needs and those of other vulnerable populations, including older people and persons with disabilities.
“We acknowledge that the overwhelming majority of road traffic deaths and injuries are preventable and that they remain a major development and public health problem that has broad social and economic consequences, which, if unaddressed, will affect progress towards the achievement of the SDGs.
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“We recognise the distinct and divergent challenges posed for road safety and sustainability in both urban and rural areas and note, in particular, the growing safety threat for vulnerable road users in cities,” the declaration read.
The stakeholders called attention to the damaging impact of road crashes and related deaths and injuries on long-term national economic growth, the unequal progress across regions and income levels and expressed concern that no low-income countries have reduced the number of road traffic deaths between 2013 and 2016, which highlights clearly the link between development and road safety.
To get the commitment of government in reducing road crash injuries and deaths by 50 per cent in the next decade, a first High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on Road Safety, which would involve Heads of State and Government has also been called.
The high-level meeting is expected to mobilise adequate national leadership and advance international and multi-sectoral collaboration in the areas to deliver a 50 per cent reduction in deaths and injuries over the next decade as well as achieving Vision Zero by 2050.
The gathering welcomed the key achievements of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 and acknowledged the lessons learned from the during the same period such as the need to promote an integrated approach to road safety, including a safe system approach and Vision Zero.
The participants urged the United Nations General Assembly to endorse the contents of the declaration.
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