Road traffic injuries kill approximately 316 000 people each year in the WHO South-East Asia Region (SEAR), equivalent to 25% of global road traffic deaths. In addition to deaths, up to 50 million people incur non-fatal injuries each year as a result of road traffic crashes, while there are additional indirect health consequences. Investment in road safety can yield high return to the whole society, in many forms including prevention of premature mortality and disability, prevention of productivity loss, promoting human asset and quality of life, and prevention of health care cost and public damage.
This Ministerial level meeting in the WHO South-East Asia Region is an important step to inspire and accelerate action on the five pillars of the “UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, 2011-2020”, both at national and sub-national levels. The multisectoral participation will strengthen collaboration both within and among stakeholder ministries, UN agencies and other related international/Regional organizations to scale-up action to make roads safer in the Region, in particular for the vulnerable road users. This meeting will also be an opportunity for consideration of the Regional appropriate targets and indicators for road safety and a plan of action to achieve the related Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3.6 and SDG 11.2).
The overall objective is to accelerate implementation of actions on Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020 in the WHO South-East Asia Region through high-level advocacy.
The specific objectives are to:
- Prioritize road safety actions in SEAR Member States and develop innovative strategies for the accelerated implementation of five pillars of road safety.
- Discuss the role of WHO and other partners in supporting the SEAR Member States in accelerating achievement of DoA and SDG goals towards road safety.
- Achieve high-level advocacy and strengthen political commitment on Decade of Action for road safety towards SDG objectives in the WHO SEA Region for accelerated implementation in Member States.
- Road Traffic Injuries: The Facts
- Key risk factors: The facts
- Ten strategies for keeping Children Safe on the road
- Drink–Driving: The Facts
- Global road safety targets to measure performance
- PHUKET Framework for Action to Protect Vulnerable Road Users, with focus on vulnerable road users
- Seat-Belts: The Facts
- Child Restraints: The Facts
