Millions to make roads safer
The FIA Foundation has pledged a donation of US$10 million to kick-start a new United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund that was launched by UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed last week.
In a press statement the FIA Foundation media manager Kate Turner said the new UN Fund is intended to catalyse road safety action across the globe, using donations to help unlock new government and municipal funding and re-focus national road safety budgets towards proven ‘safe system’ interventions.
Turner added that the foundation’s pledge will help to leverage additional support for the fund from governments, other philanthropies and the private sector to work towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of a 50% global reduction in road fatalities and injuries.
A recent World Bank report identified that countries not investing in road safety could miss out on up to 22% in potential per capita GDP growth over a 24-year period.
According to the FIA Foundation statement, the UN Economic Commission for Europe estimates that for every US$100 million raised and deployed by the fund, a further US$3.4 billion of country and city investment can be unlocked for infrastructure and road safety programmes, saving 64 000 lives and preventing 640 000 serious injuries. To meet the road safety sustainable development goal targets for road safety by 2030 will require at least $770 million per year in catalytic financing, so the stakes are high and the challenge great.
According to Jean Todt, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for road safety, the Fund has the potential to galvanise 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.
Namibia’s roads
In 2014, Namibia was ranked first in the world in terms of the number of road deaths per 100 000 residents by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Namibia is ranked first in the world in terms of the number of road deaths per 100 000 residents.
At the time Namibia has recorded a total of 2 260 car crashes, 4 028 injuries and 470 fatalities between January and August of that year.
In mid-February this year, the Namibian police released the official road accident statistics for the 2017 festive season, which indicate that crashes had decreased by 18%, injuries by 25% and fatalities by 5%.
A total of 528 road accidents were recorded during the 2017/18 festive season, with 127 fatalities and 965 injuries, compared to the previous year when 645 crashes, 1 292 injuries and 134 fatalities were recorded.
Nampol chief Lieutenant-General Sebastian Ndeitunga said reducing the number of crashes was their biggest achievement, although the figures were still below expectation, given the effort that was put in.
“We shall continue to put in more effort, until these negative statistics are reduced and are acceptable.”
The FIA Foundation is an independent UK registered charity which supports an international programme of activities promoting road safety, the environment and sustainable mobility.
STAFF REPORTER
In a press statement the FIA Foundation media manager Kate Turner said the new UN Fund is intended to catalyse road safety action across the globe, using donations to help unlock new government and municipal funding and re-focus national road safety budgets towards proven ‘safe system’ interventions.
Turner added that the foundation’s pledge will help to leverage additional support for the fund from governments, other philanthropies and the private sector to work towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of a 50% global reduction in road fatalities and injuries.
A recent World Bank report identified that countries not investing in road safety could miss out on up to 22% in potential per capita GDP growth over a 24-year period.
According to the FIA Foundation statement, the UN Economic Commission for Europe estimates that for every US$100 million raised and deployed by the fund, a further US$3.4 billion of country and city investment can be unlocked for infrastructure and road safety programmes, saving 64 000 lives and preventing 640 000 serious injuries. To meet the road safety sustainable development goal targets for road safety by 2030 will require at least $770 million per year in catalytic financing, so the stakes are high and the challenge great.
According to Jean Todt, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for road safety, the Fund has the potential to galvanise 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.
Namibia’s roads
In 2014, Namibia was ranked first in the world in terms of the number of road deaths per 100 000 residents by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Namibia is ranked first in the world in terms of the number of road deaths per 100 000 residents.
At the time Namibia has recorded a total of 2 260 car crashes, 4 028 injuries and 470 fatalities between January and August of that year.
In mid-February this year, the Namibian police released the official road accident statistics for the 2017 festive season, which indicate that crashes had decreased by 18%, injuries by 25% and fatalities by 5%.
A total of 528 road accidents were recorded during the 2017/18 festive season, with 127 fatalities and 965 injuries, compared to the previous year when 645 crashes, 1 292 injuries and 134 fatalities were recorded.
Nampol chief Lieutenant-General Sebastian Ndeitunga said reducing the number of crashes was their biggest achievement, although the figures were still below expectation, given the effort that was put in.
“We shall continue to put in more effort, until these negative statistics are reduced and are acceptable.”
The FIA Foundation is an independent UK registered charity which supports an international programme of activities promoting road safety, the environment and sustainable mobility.
STAFF REPORTER
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