Each year, the Alliance marks the anniversary of the launch of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 (Global Plan) with an online event looking at progress toward the Decade of Action from a civil society perspective.
In this year’s event, we honed in on a Reality Check video featuring voices from NGOs around the world and an Accountability Check, alongside insights from guest speakers and NGO panelists, offering a candid look at how to make progress in achieving the Global Plan targets.
The speakers included:
Jean Todt, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety;
Etienne Krug, Director, Department of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention, World Health Organization;
Alex Ruhunda, Ugandan MP and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Forum on Road Safety (PAFROS);
Claes Tingvall, Chalmers University of Technology and Monash University Accident Centre and Chairman of the Academic Expert Group for Ministerial conferences.
The NGO panelists and speakers included: Manpreet Darroch, Deputy Director, Youth for Road Safety; Viviam Perrone, Secretary, Asociación Madres del Dolor, Argentina; Greig Craft, President, AIP Foundation, Viet Nam; Caro Smit, Director and Founder, South Africans Against Drunk Driving, South Africa; and Valerie Smith, Director of Road Safety Programs, Parachute, Canada. They shared perspectives on how NGOs are tirelessly contributing to achieving the Global Plan target, even amid challenges.
Watch the recording
Speakers perspectives
Jean Todt, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety
“The Global Plan anniversary marks a key moment to reflect on progress. NGOs are the beating heart of the global road safety movement. You link people to power, numbers to stories, and tragedy to transformation. You can galvanize, organize and wake society up to the risks on the roads. You can say what many cannot. You can hold power to account.”
Jean Todt’s key points:
NGOs are the driving force for accountability and change; they connect communities with power, turn data into stories, and push governments and societies to act on road safety.
Midway through the Decade of Action, urgency must replace rhetoric. While progress exists, the world must accelerate to a 50% reduction in road deaths within the next five years to meet the Global Plan targets.
Momentum from the Ministerial Conference must be sustained. Countries have made concrete commitments that require political will and coordination to drive measurable results.
Strong leadership, cross-sector partnerships, and bold advocacy will make safe mobility a right for all.
Etienne Krug, Director, Department of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention, World Health Organization
Etienne’s key points:
The Global Plan anniversary provides an important opportunity to reflect on progress and renew momentum, especially in a world facing political tensions, shrinking budgets, and reduced international cooperation.
Road safety remains a rare area of global consensus—everyone agrees that preventable deaths and injuries on our roads must end.
We already have the tools and proven, cost-effective solutions to save lives; what we need now is stronger political will to implement them.
Genuine progress occurs when there is leadership and when NGOs, victims, and the media apply consistent pressure to hold governments accountable and turn commitments into real action.
Alex Ruhunda, Ugandan MP and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Forum on Road Safety (PAFROS)
Alex’s key points:
Uganda has taken steps to implement commitments made at the Ministerial Conference, supported by a strong Parliamentary Road Safety Forum.
Legislative reforms have strengthened traffic laws, driver training, and vehicle inspection.
Despite these efforts, road crashes have increased by 6.4% over the past three years, underscoring the need for renewed strategies and stronger enforcement.
Passionate youth engagement and sustained collaboration are vital to reverse current trends and advance progress toward Global Plan targets.
Daphne Marcelo, APRSO Coordinator
Daphne’s key points:
NGOs play a crucial role in holding power to account and advancing the Global Plan’s implementation across regions.
Post-Marrakech, three major challenges persist: inadequate financing, the need for stronger Safe System capacity building, and gaps in reliable, timely data.
Traditional funding mechanisms are failing, highlighting the need for alternative financing models and greater involvement from multilateral development banks.
Regional initiatives like the APRSO in Asia provide platforms to strengthen collaboration, improve data systems, and maintain accountability for road safety commitments.
Latin America continues to face significant road safety challenges, with high fatality rates and major economic costs, but also growing opportunities for progress.
The region has strengthened regulatory frameworks and education initiatives, yet structural and cultural barriers still hinder the development of safe mobility systems.
Three priorities demand multisector collaboration: safe and sustainable infrastructure, effective investment mechanisms, and a strong, preventive road safety culture.
Expanding institutional coordination and ensuring continuity in public policies—supported by government, civil society, academia, and the private sector—are essential to achieving lasting impact.
Claes Tingvall, Chalmers University of Technology and Monash University Accident Centre and Chairman of the Academic Expert Group for Ministerial conferences
“We hold governments accountable, now we must do the same with other sectors. Not in an aggressive way, but by raising expectations and demanding action where it matters most. Road safety must reach the financial sector, the private sector, and the judiciary; we must understand their language and logic if we are to make progress in meeting the Global Plan’s target.”
Claes’ key points:
Progress since Marrakech includes growing recognition that road safety is an integral part of occupational health and safety, requiring stronger accountability from both public and private sectors.
There is a need to expand responsibility beyond individual road users to include CEOs, corporations, and the judicial system, ensuring that prevention and compliance are treated as legal and moral obligations.
NGOs play a critical role in driving this shift, as they are often the only actors pushing governments, investors, and major companies to take meaningful, systemic action.
Achieving real change demands collaboration across traditional and new stakeholders—including the financial sector, multinationals, and enforcement bodies—to move upstream and address the structural causes of unsafe mobility.
NGO panelists perspectives
Manpreet Darroch, Deputy Director, Youth for Road Safety
Manpreet’s key points:
Since the Ministerial Conference in Marrakech, youth and NGOs have shown growing momentum, driving commitments and action toward the Global Plan targets.
The Youth Statement from Marrakech and upcoming Youth Assembly demonstrate how young people are entering decision-making spaces and being recognized as legitimate partners in sustainable mobility.
Fifteen governments have endorsed youth participation, acknowledging that youth voices do not exist in silos but as part of a wider ecosystem advancing safe, sustainable transport.
Through locally led Safe System approach–based initiatives, young people are turning advocacy into implementation, proving that youth ideas and energy are credible drivers of change.
Viviam Perrone, Secretary, Asociación Madres del Dolor, Argentina
Viviam’s key points:
Government restructuring in Argentina—including the closure of the national road safety agency and reduced funding—has weakened coordination, monitoring, and enforcement, threatening progress toward Global Plan targets.
NGOs have stepped in to fill critical gaps, advocating for the reinstatement of the Road Safety Agency while continuing to provide support to victims and push for legal reforms such as the Penal Code amendment.
Through initiatives like the Mobility Snapshots, NGOs have influenced tangible improvements, including expanded cycling infrastructure and safer street designs in cities such as Neuquén.
Collaboration and constructive engagement with authorities have proven more effective than confrontation, helping to reestablish dialogue and drive institutional recovery for road safety.
Greig Craft, President, AIP Foundation, Viet Nam
Greig’s key points:
Progress since Marrakech shows growing recognition of helmet safety, but real momentum is still lacking. There are too many discussions and too little action, particularly on enforcing and adopting helmet standards.
A culture of safety around helmet use must be cultivated, starting early in life and reinforced through trusted community voices, such as doctors and educators.
Multiple effective helmet standards already exist; countries should adopt those that save lives and fit their local realities, especially for children, rather than accept one-size-fits-all approaches dictated externally.
Affordability remains a core challenge. Safe helmets must be accessible and cost-effective in low- and middle-income countries to ensure protection for all riders.
Caro Smit, Director and Founder, South Africans Against Drunk Driving, South Africa
Caro’s key points:
Persistent advocacy and resilience are essential—never accept “no” when it comes to protecting pedestrians and cyclists’ rights.
Collaboration with all relevant stakeholders, including city officials, developers, and planners, is critical to ensure evidence-based safety measures that benefit everyone.
Advocacy must emphasize that lack of funding is not an excuse for inaction; practical solutions can be found through negotiation and shared responsibility.
The global attention on local road safety issues, like in Cape Town, is a reminder that the world is watching and real change must follow words.
Valerie Smith, Director of Road Safety Programs, Parachute, Canada
“Regional contexts are different, but obstacles are strikingly similar—fragmented governance, strong strategies yet weak implementation, resource constraints, and siloed agendas. Yet these are the gaps within which NGOs operate in filling voids and holding governments accountable.”
Valerie’s key points:
Despite some bright spots and progress, deep disparities persist across regions, underscoring the need for continued collaboration and alignment with the Global Plan.
NGOs remain vital voices of accountability, filling governance and resource gaps while driving implementation where systems fall short.
Data and national strategies are essential tools for tracking progress and ensuring evidence-based interventions.
Real change happens step by step through persistence. NGOs must continue pushing forward, even amid fragmented governance, limited funding, and competing priorities.
