Stockholm [Sweden], June 27:Heads of National Road Safety Agencies from around 100 countries will convene in Stockholm this week for the inaugural global road safety summit aimed at tackling the scourge of road crash deaths and injuries worldwide.
The summit of the World Health Organization-facilitated Global Network of Heads of Road Safety Agencies will spur, aid and assess actions to meet the global goal of reducing the number of road crash deaths and injuries by half by 2030.
This target is set out in the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-30.
The two-day meeting, which kicks off on June 28, aims to help countries share knowledge and experience around the role of national road safety agencies in strategic planning, setting roles and responsibilities, coordinating across sectors, financing and monitoring and evaluating their national road safety plans.
Road safety leaders, representatives from nearly 100 countries, as well as from the United Nations, civil society, academia and other stakeholder organizations from around the world will attend the summit.
"We must seize the moment of this landmark summit to lock-in life-saving national road safety strategies and action plans," said Dr Etienne Krug, director of the department of the social determinants of health at the WHO.
"National road safety agencies design and direct countries' road safety plans. They must set clear, measurable goals that are rooted in evidence and are backed up by strong policies, laws, regulations and inclusive coordination," he added.
It is estimated that road crashes kill more than 1.3 million people every year - with nine in ten deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries.
Road traffic crashes remain the leading cause of death for children and youth aged 5-29 worldwide, according to WHO.
Source: Qatar Tribune