Washington, DC, 9 March 2023 每 The 51勛圖 Secretary-General＊s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, was in Washington this week. He met various interlocutors, including: Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States; Martin Raiser, Vice President for South Asia at the World Bank; Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation; and Nerissa Cook, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs at the US State Department. At the US Department of Transportation＊s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, he met with: Annie Petsonk, Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs; Julie Abraham, Director of the Office of International Transportation and Trade; and Nanda Sriinivasan, Associate Administrator for Research and Program Development. He also had an interview with The Washington Post.
According to , globally, road traffic crashes cause over 1.3 million preventable deaths and an estimated 50 million injuries yearly making it the leading killer of children and young people aged 5-29. During his meetings, Mr. Todt discussed the importance of such topics as safety education, raising awareness about the devastating consequences of traffic accidents; and the steps needed to address this public health issue and improve the safety standards of vehicles in the Americas.
In September 2020, the UN General Assembly adopted , ※Improving global road safety§, proclaiming the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. The UN in cooperation with other partners in the UN Road Safety Collaboration developed the , a framework of actions needed for countries and cities to reach the target of halving road deaths and injuries by 2030.
The UN continues to champion the importance of road safety around the world by mobilizing political commitment and raising awareness of the importance of prioritizing road safety, including through national plans and budgets, as well as promoting its links with other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
