 | Third ministerial conference for road safety officially started today under theme of “achieving global goals 2030”. It was organized by the government of Sweden together with the World Health Organization and was attended by about 1700 delegates from 140 countries, including Ministers, senior officials from United Nations agencies and representatives from civial society, academia and private sector. We are thrilled that two of our members are among the participants. |
His Majesty the King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf was the Guest of honor and gave his opening remarks on the conference. He started by reminding participants the bad statistics of deaths and injuries caused by road crashes but appreciated that there has been improvement over time since 2000.
The Minister of infrastructure in Sweden Tomas Eneroth stated that “It is Great honor to welcome you in this conference. Road Traffic injuries are the most common cause of death among young people globally. Road traffic deaths and injuries and their high costs to society are an unacceptable price to pay for mobility, particularly given that the majority of road traffic deaths and injuries are preventable. It is my ambition that this conference and declaration provide us with the opportunity to reiterate our strong commitment to achieving the global goals by 2030. If road safety is to serve as catalyst for change, the involvement of many sectors of society and accelerated action by a broader range of partners are needed. The results will save lives.
The Director General of WHO hailed the Government of Sweden for bringing us together. Leaders of Transport are concerned and must be part of solution. Between 2010-2018 road crashes have been declined in Europe and in other countries like Brasil. That means if we commit to act we can achieve more. I encourage the leaders to start take action because this matter of road safety affect not only the country and families but also the quality of health in general. Let’s join hand together, accelerate action and plan sustainable mobility. Thank you for opportunity to speak with you again.
Omnia El Omrani spoke on behalf of Youth and reminded the leaders that enough is enough and young leaders will not tolerate anymore if they don’t action to stop the dramatic deaths happening on our roads. As youth we are talented and ready to act. We also ready to engage with you and we are last generation to face with road crashes.
After the opening session, different high level panels followed including: Harnessing the successes of decade of action for road safety 2011-2020 where all panelists emphasized on the need of leadership in road safety, focus on youth and accountability. Other discussions were achieving SDG targets through vision zero, building effective leadership for road safety and financing safe and sustainable transport system.
In short, the first day of the conference was productive and we learned a lot from various experiences. Roads should be made for People not for vehicles and Road safety must be for all and all for road safety. Lastly, vision zero is possible but if you cannot mention it (road safety) you can’t improve it. Looking forward for the last day of the conference tomorrow.
The Minister of infrastructure in Sweden Tomas Eneroth stated that “It is Great honor to welcome you in this conference. Road Traffic injuries are the most common cause of death among young people globally. Road traffic deaths and injuries and their high costs to society are an unacceptable price to pay for mobility, particularly given that the majority of road traffic deaths and injuries are preventable. It is my ambition that this conference and declaration provide us with the opportunity to reiterate our strong commitment to achieving the global goals by 2030. If road safety is to serve as catalyst for change, the involvement of many sectors of society and accelerated action by a broader range of partners are needed. The results will save lives.
The Director General of WHO hailed the Government of Sweden for bringing us together. Leaders of Transport are concerned and must be part of solution. Between 2010-2018 road crashes have been declined in Europe and in other countries like Brasil. That means if we commit to act we can achieve more. I encourage the leaders to start take action because this matter of road safety affect not only the country and families but also the quality of health in general. Let’s join hand together, accelerate action and plan sustainable mobility. Thank you for opportunity to speak with you again.
Omnia El Omrani spoke on behalf of Youth and reminded the leaders that enough is enough and young leaders will not tolerate anymore if they don’t action to stop the dramatic deaths happening on our roads. As youth we are talented and ready to act. We also ready to engage with you and we are last generation to face with road crashes.
After the opening session, different high level panels followed including: Harnessing the successes of decade of action for road safety 2011-2020 where all panelists emphasized on the need of leadership in road safety, focus on youth and accountability. Other discussions were achieving SDG targets through vision zero, building effective leadership for road safety and financing safe and sustainable transport system.
In short, the first day of the conference was productive and we learned a lot from various experiences. Roads should be made for People not for vehicles and Road safety must be for all and all for road safety. Lastly, vision zero is possible but if you cannot mention it (road safety) you can’t improve it. Looking forward for the last day of the conference tomorrow.
MORE PHOTO FROM THE EVENT
The Director General of WHO
Dr Ami Nkumbuye (Left) and Dr Innocent Nzeyimana (Right)
HPR Members
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WRITTEN BY NKUMBUYE AMI
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