Ogeyi Blessing
Road traffic injuries cause considerable economic losses to individuals, their families, and to nations as a whole; this loss arises from the cost of treatment as well as lost productivity for those killed or disabled by their injuries and for family members who need to take time off work or school to care for the injured. Road traffic crashes cost most countries three per cent of their gross domestic product.
The Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021 to 2030: this global plan has been developed by the World Health Organization and the United Nations regional commissions, in cooperation with partners in the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration and other stakeholders, as a guiding document to support the implementation of the Decade of Action 2021-2030 and its objectives.
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, in his message on World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, says, “On this World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, we honour those who have lost their lives and livelihoods on the world’s roads.” Every year 1.2 million people are killed in road crashes and another 50 million are left injured or disabled. Nine out of 10 road crash deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. A full third of victims are children and young people, making road accidents the leading cause of death in this age group, but solutions extend from improving infrastructure legislation and awareness to enforcing safety laws and sharing best practices across borders.
To date, the UN road safety conventions, the road safety fund and the special envoy for road safety have helped ninety-four countries save lives on the road and this year at the global ministerial conference on road safety, governments recommitted to cutting road deaths in half by 2030. Let’s save lives and prevent injuries together. We can turn remembrance into action and help to ensure that every journey ends safely.
This is in compliance with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2030, activating SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions),SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals). The 2025 themes are Remember. Support. Act.
