Rethinking road safety: mobility for people and planet
The Eighth Global Meeting of Nongovernmental Organizations Advocating for Road Safety and Road Victims (Global Meeting) was held in El Salvador 6–10 March 2023. The theme was Rethinking road safety for people and planet. 261 people were registered for the meeting from 61 countries and 180 people attended in-person.
The Global Meeting saw NGOs push for more accountability by their governments and implementation of evidence-based interventions to reduce traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030.
We thank our host, the Vice Ministry of Transport of El Salvador, as well as the Ministries of Transport, Ministry of Tourism, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and co-host, WHO, and our sponsors, FedEx, Michelin, and TotalEnergies Foundation for the success of the Global Meeting.
The San Salvador Declaration calls for governments to be accountable for people’s right to safe mobility and a 50% reduction in road deaths and injuries by 2030. It demands evidence-based action, transparent and accountable investment to make mobility safe, and NGO involvement in decision-making. READ MORE.
The Alliance launched its Accountability Toolkit, which is a set of practical, web-based tools. It offers tangible steps to equip NGOs to hold their governments accountable for the safety of all road users by reducing road deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030, in alignment with the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety. READ MORE.
Three NGO members of the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety (the Alliance) have been awarded the FedEx Road Safety Award for their outstanding commitment to road safety and the NGO community, growth, and advocacy for evidence-based interventions that contribute to reducing road deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030. READ MORE.
During the meeting, an art piece by notable El Salvadorian artist Gerardo Gomez was presented The art piece was commissioned for the Global Meeting and represented the Sustainable Development Goal 3.6 of reduction of road fatalities and serious injuries by 2030 through promotion of safe mobility.
Advocating for Emergency Care: a guide for nongovernmental organizations, published by WHO, including the Global Alliance for Care for the Injured, in collaboration with the Alliance, was launched at the symposium. READ MORE.
“The Alliance is now delivering on what the Global Plan has mandated us to do. We are equipping NGOs to hold their governments to account,” Lotte Brondum said at the symposium. Key speakers included Edgar Romeo Rodriguez Herrera, Minister of Public Works and Transportation of El Salvador, Nelson Eduardo Reyes, Vice Minister of Transportation of El Salvador, Jean Todt, UN Secretary’s General Special Envoy for Road Safety, and Etienne Krug, Director, Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization.
A panel at the Global Meeting discussed evidence-based solutions with key areas of focus being tackling speed, emphasis on the economic benefits of reducing road deaths and injuries, as well as shifting the “road culture” perception and moving responsibility from road users to those who are accountable. READ MORE.
Eight workshops on evidence-based interventions including 30 km/h and helmets, the enabling environment, road safety financing, mandatory insurance, and post-crash care, led by NGOs and global experts, equipped NGOs for advocacy and accountability.
The Eighth Global Meeting of Nongovernmental Organizations Advocating for Road Safety and Road Victims (Global Meeting) started today in San Salvador, El Salvador. READ MORE.
