On March 13 and 14 more than 170 delegates from over 52 countries representing 100 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) gathered in Marrakech, Morocco at the Zalagh Kashbar Hotel & Spa in Marrakech, Morocco for the 4th Global Meeting of Nongovernmental Organizations Advocating for Road Safety and Road Victims.
The Global Meeting is organized by the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety and takes place every two years, with previous editions being held in Brussels, Belgium; Washington, DC, USA; and Antalya, Turkey. This year’s meeting was hosted by the Moroccan National Committee for Prevention of Road Accidents and was sponsored by FedEx, the Road Safety Fund, the World Bank’s Global Road Safety Facility, and Allianz.
Dignitaries from the Moroccan Government including Mr Aziz Rabbah, Minister of Transport, Equipment and Logistics, Morocco, Dr Mohamed Najib Boulif Minister Delegate to the Minister of Logistics, Equipment and logistics in charge of transport, Morocco, Dr. Ahmed Boudak, Director of Hospitals and Outpatient Care, Ministry of Health, Morocco welcomed delegates including Dr. Etienne Krug, Director of the Department for Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability and Injury Prevention at the World Health Organization, Mr. Marc Shotten, Senior Transport Specialist at Global Road Safety Facility, World bank, Mr. Shane O’Connor, Communications Advisor, FedEx, and Dr. Kate Allen, Health Systems Manager, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg SAchool of Public Health.
Nearly 3,500 people die on the world’s roads every day–over 1.2 million people per year–and tens of millions are injured or disabled. Each year, developing countries lose between 1 and 3% of their gross domestic product due to medical costs, productivity losses, and other expenses resulting from deaths and injuries on the road. The economic burden of motor vehicle crashes costs at least $500 billion worldwide, which is more than all the funds that developing countries receive in aid.
NGOs play a vital role in the growing worldwide movement to reduce the impact of road traffic injuries on society via advocacy activities and the implementation of evidence-based programs to reduce crashes and assist the injured. The purpose of the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety and the Global Meetings is to help coordinate the activities of NGOs and assist in the dissemination of best practices for programmes, fundraising, communications, and more.
Main highlights and outcomes from the Global Meeting in Marrakech, NGOs:
NGOs also had ample time for networking and presented their work at poster displays.
