Driving road safety up the international agenda

29 November 2012

Commission for Global Road Safety meets at EBRD

The figures are stark. The WHO estimates some 1.3 million deaths annually worldwide from traffic accidents, a figure that rivals the death toll from major diseases like tuberculosis. This tragic balance is compounded by millions of serious casualties and personal tragedies, not to mention the enormous economic cost to countries around the globe.

In the traditional EBRD region, road safety is a major problem with some 50,000 annual fatalities and 500,000 casualties. The average mortality rate per 100,000 population in this region is about 2.5 times higher than the average in western Europe, also underscoring the significant human cost of this issue. In some countries such as Kazakhstan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan, per capita mortality due to traffic accidents is double that. And then there is the socio-economic cost of road accidents, a very real factor for the victims and their families. According to international studies, seven out of 10 people seriously injured in road accidents fall into long-term poverty due to loss of income and loss of income earning potential.

“Lives saved, injuries prevented” 
The EBRD takes this problem seriously and has been tackling road safety through investment in road infrastructure for many years – just one reason it was host for Thursday’s Annual Meeting of the Commission for Global Road Safety, chaired by the Rt Hon Lord Robertson of Port Ellen. For a number of years, the Commission has been labouring to drive road safety issues higher up the agenda and to make this vital issue more of a priority for governments and international organisations.

The Commission has had successes. It called for the multi-lateral development banks (MDBs) to act together to improve the safety impacts of road investments, resulting in a joint MDB Road Safety Action Plan and “a shared approach to managing road safety”. Commission member General Victor Kiryanov, Deputy Minister of the Interior of the Russian Federation, was the driving force behind the first-ever global ministerial conference on Road Safety in Moscow in 2009. The Commission went on to spearhead the launch of the UN Decade of Action, signed by the EBRD and the other MDBs and adopted by the UN in 2010, which sets a 50 per cent reduction in casualties by 2020 as a target. Last but not least, the Commission helped to make road safety a development issue at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year.

Partnering with the private sector to raise public awareness
Safer roads, safer vehicles and enhanced public awareness are at the core of the Commission’s global plan to reduce traffic fatalities. With its significant investments in the road sector, the EBRD is well placed to make a big difference. Since 1991, the Bank has invested some €4.7 billion in 69 road sector projects with a total value of €21 billion. In her remarks to the Commission, Sue Barrett, Director for Transport, underscored the importance of road safety which, she said, “is embedded in all EBRD investments in this sector. The Bank ensures safety and environmental standards through its investments and has undertaken to seek partnerships with the private sector to promote road safety.”

To this end, the Bank signed an MoU with the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) at the Annual Meeting, underscoring its commitment to invest in road projects that meet recognised safety standards. Sue and First Vice President Varel Freeman outlined plans to engage further with private sector clients to develop public awareness and road safety campaigns. As one example, the EBRD Republic of Serbia Rehabilitation and Safety Project (to be signed in 2013) will finance the rehabilitation of 2,500 km of roads, with explicit road safety improvement targets and plans to identify a private sector partner to fund a targeted road safety awareness campaign.

Ebrdblog.com

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