Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Road Safety Programme announces
US$ 125 million commitment to improve road safety in cities and
countries
In
a major boost to the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020,
Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced a US$ 125 million donation which
aims to reduce fatalities and injuries from road traffic crashes.
Unless
urgent action is taken, road traffic injuries will become the seventh
leading cause of death by 2030. To combat this trend, select low- and middle-income cities
and countries will be funded through this effort. At national level
support will focus on strengthening road safety legislation and at city
level on implementing proven road safety interventions in areas such as
pedestrian and cyclist safety, combating drinking and driving and
speeding, and encouraging the use of motorcycle helmets, seat-belts and
child restraints.
"Every life lost because of unsafe roads is a tragedy - and most of those tragedies could be avoided with better rules, better enforcement, and smarter infrastructure. City governments can be especially effective at putting those measures in place, because they are often able to move faster and more efficiently than other levels of government," said Michael R. Bloomberg. "This new funding will be targeted to cities where we can make the biggest difference, that have shown the strongest commitment to taking action, and that have the best ideas for making roads safer. And we'll help those cities work together to share effective strategies - so that even more lives can be saved."
Bloomberg
Philanthropies will work with each grantee to develop its proposal for
participation in the initiative. With assistance from the world's
leading experts in road safety, selected locations will establish a
network of visionary municipal leaders who commit to implementing bold,
new efforts to save lives and protect their citizens from injuries. The
selected locations will be announced by January 2015.
"Strong
road safety laws to prevent drinking and driving and speeding and
promote the use of motorcycle helmets, seat-belts and child restraints,
when coupled with an increase in compliance, have the potential to
reverse the epidemic of road traffic deaths and injuries," noted Dr
Etienne Krug, WHO Director for the Department of Management of
Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention.
More
than 1.2 million people die and 20-50 million people are severely
injured from road traffic crashes around the world every year, making
road traffic injuries the ninth leading cause of preventable death. In
2010, Bloomberg Philanthropies committed US$ 125 million in funding to
ten countries that represented half of road traffic-related deaths
globally, namely Brazil, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Kenya, Mexico,
Russian Federation, Turkey and Viet Nam.
Since
Bloomberg Philanthropies began working on road safety in 2010, over 1.8
billion people have been covered by strengthened road safety laws, 65
million people have been exposed to hard-hitting media campaigns
promoting road safety, close to 30,000 professionals have been trained
on road safety tactics, and local governments have committed US$ 225
million towards infrastructure improvements that will make roads safer.
Decade Secretariat
Ms Laura Sminkey
Communications Officer
