Launch of United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund

An estimated 1.25 million people are killed every year in road traffic accidents (RTA's), and up to 50 million more are injured, often seriously.

Beyond human suffering, road traffic deaths and injuries cause significant economic losses to individuals and societies, keeping millions of people in poverty and creating an estimated $1.85 trillion burden on the global economy each year. This makes addressing road safety one of the most pressing social, economic, health and development challenges of our time.

The United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund, launched today in New York City, aims to accelerate progress in improving global road safety by bridging the gaps in the mobilization of resources for effective action at all levels.

Established at the request of the Secretary-General following the suggestion made by United Nations Member States, the Fund will mobilise resources from governments, intergovernmental or non-governmental organizations, the private sector, philanthropic organisations and individuals.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) estimates that every $1,500 contributed to the Road Safety Trust Fund could:

• save one life
• prevent ten serious injuries
• leverage $51,000 in road safety investment.

Speaking at the launch of the Fund, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety Jean Todt, said “I strongly welcome the establishment of the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund, which has the potential to galvanize our global efforts to address the road safety situation, building on the progress made and experience gained over the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. I call on the support of all partners in mobilizing the resources necessary to reduce the number of fatalities on the world’s roads”.

By bringing key stakeholders together, the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund will support increased action and enhanced impact in addressing critical road safety challenges. In this spirit, important pledges to contribute as founding donors were made at the Fund’s launch by the FIA Foundation, and two members of the FIA High Level Panel for Road Safety, Total and 3M, who build on a long history of support to concrete initiatives and innovation to improve road safety. A number of governments have also expressed their support for the activities of the Fund.

The United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund will focus on strengthening the capacity of government agencies, local governments and city authorities to develop and implement road safety programmes, prioritizing projects in low and middle-income countries.

For more information, read the full press release here.

Source: story first published by UNECE on 12/04/18