GLOBAL ALLIANCE OF NGOs FOR ROAD SAFETY

Dear Friends,  At the end of August, the UN General Assembly adopted the new resolution A/RES/74/299 on Improving Global Road Safety. Among other things, the resolution sets the target for a 50% reduction in road deaths and injuries by 2030, a Second Decade of Action for Road Safety, and a High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly by the end of 2022.  In this month's newsletter, we feature perspectives on the resolution from different sectors including government, NGOs, environment, health, and youth as well as a summary of our Q&A session with Etienne Krug, WHO, and comment from the Government of Sweden’s Minister for Infrastructure, Tomas Eneroth.   Yours sincerely, Lotte Brondum Executive Director TABLE OF CONTENTS Q&A with Etienne Krug Comment from Sweden The Rocky Path to #50by30 What the Resolution Means:      For NGOs      For the Environment      For Health      For Youth How to Engage with the Resolution

Q&A with Etienne Krug [links to YouTube]

Q&A WITH ETIENNE KRUG “We need to make sure that every government and all the relevant people are aware that this resolution exists, second that they contribute to the thinking. We will want every country to have a plan for the [Second] Decade of Action…there’s a lot of work where I think NGOs can be strong advocates for making sure that the thought process happens and that it leads to concrete decisions. After that, there are many different roles for NGOs to carry out activities.” Earlier this week, the Alliance hosted a Q&A session with Etienne Krug, Director of Social Determinants of Health, WHO, to address NGOs questions about the new UN Resolution. The session covered the process that led to the resolution, the content, the plans for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety, and how NGOs can push the resolution in their countries. He highlighted four key elements of the resolution: Endorsement of Stockholm Declaration Declaration of the Second Decade of Action with a specific target to reduce road deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030 Commissioning of WHO and the UN regional Commissions, along with other partners in the  UN Road Safety Collaboration and other stakeholders to develop a plan of action for the Decade of Action A high-level UN General Assembly meeting at head of state level to be held before the end of 2022 Read more HERE or click on the video above to watch the session.

WHAT THE RESOLUTION MEANS FOR GOVERNMENT In February 2020, the Government of Sweden organized the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, resulting in the Stockholm Declaration and setting the stage for the UN Resolution. We asked Minister for Infrastructure, Tomas Eneroth, who led the Swedish Government's role, about his reaction to the resolution. “With the new UN General Assembly Resolution endorsing the Stockholm Declaration,” he says, “there is a global pledge to continue and develop our global cooperation, our knowledge sharing and our commitment towards Vison Zero. For me and for Sweden, but more importantly for the hard everyday work towards road safety being done all around the world, this is a great recognition and inspiration.” Significantly, the Stockholm Declaration and the resolution sets road safety into the wider framework of the SDGs. “This is how we take the next leap in road safety,” he continues. “In the past, road safety practice has largely been isolated from other policy areas – almost a separate process. However, more can be achieved if we see road safety as a component of many other processes.” Read the Minister’s full comments to the Alliance HERE.

WHAT THE RESOLUTION MEANS FOR #50by30 One of the most significant elements in the resolution is the target to reduce road deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030. It may have seemed, because the SDG 2020 target already existed, that including the 2030 target should have been straightforward. Behind the scenes, there was no such certainty. David Ward of Towards Zero Foundation, who spearheaded the #50by30 campaign to adopt the target at a UN level, tells us, “By 2018, it was absolutely obvious that the 2020 target wasn’t going to be met, but then we hit the issue of renewal. That’s a sensitive subject, [and] we could not assume that the 2030 target would be accepted and adopted.” The success of the #50by30 campaign was a result of painstaking advocacy that involved developing databases of ministers and parliamentarians, writing letters, organizing events, and the important efforts of a unified NGO community. Moreover, there were many risks along the way. “Advocacy is a bit like a wall of water pressure,” says David. “If you don’t keep that pressure up against these global policy-making machines they will slip backwards for a number of reasons.”  Read David’s account of the target’s advocacy journey and the need to maintain governments’ accountability to achieve a 50% reduction in road fatalities and injuries by 2030 HERE.

WHAT THE RESOLUTION MEANS FOR NGOs “For NGOs, this is an important document. It is the mandate for our advocacy for the next 10 years and our hook with our governments, as we call on them to stand up for their responsibilities.” Lotte Brondum, the Alliance's Executive Director discusses how NGOs can use the resolution to hold their governments accountable for saving lives on the road. “Just because the 2020 SDG target will be missed, it doesn’t mean that the first Decade of Action was a failure,” says Lotte. “It has drawn attention to the scale and urgency of the global road safety crisis and galvanized countries to take a more strategic approach to reducing road deaths and injuries. ... Now, however, we need a real Decade of Action, where the foundations laid during the first Decade galvanize the political will that has been accumulated and accelerate progress.” Read Lotte's full article HERE and Alliance NGO reactions to the resolution HERE.

WHAT THE RESOLUTION MEANS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT The UN Resolution presents a wider perspective on road safety than previous instruments and commitments. Among other concerns, it connects road safety to the environmental agenda. To get a viewpoint on this aspect of the resolution, we spoke to Carly Gilbert-Patrick, Share the Road Global Programme Lead at the UN Environment Programme. “Our planet has some really big problems right now: pollution, climate change, the impact of road crashes, lack of social equity in accessing services, and now, to add to it all, COVID-19. Transport is a contributing factor in all of these, and safer roads are one of the solutions,” says Carly. “The resolution’s timing is supremely relevant to the post-pandemic soul searching happening in many countries right now, and it makes the Stockholm Declaration agreed in February seem almost prophetic.” Read more from Carly, with a focus on walking and cycling, HERE.

WHAT THE RESOLUTION MEANS FOR HEALTH Olive Kobusingye, Senior Research Fellow, Makerere University School of Public Health and the Institute for Social and Health Sciences of the University of South Africa, is an expert in Public Health with an interest in road safety. You may remember her from our recent live session COVID-19 and Health Systems. Olive says, “The resolution makes very clear the linkages between road safety and public health — especially relating to active mobility and the environment, both of which are closely associated with benefits for noncommunicable disease control.” She continues, “There are many intersections for road safety and health. One that is not often acknowledged is the use of health data to set targets, which can then be tracked by both health and road safety NGOs. The other intersection is that of post-crash care, ... NGOs working in this space can work closely with national and NGO entities in the health financing sector and gender and equity sectors, to ensure that persons who survive a road crash do not die needlessly for lack of appropriate post-crash care.” Read more from Olive on the connection between road safety and health within the resolution HERE.

WHAT THE RESOLUTION MEANS FOR YOUTH Ritu Jain is a Youth Advisory Board Member for the Global Youth Coalition and a Youth Accountability Advocate for Restless Development India. We asked her views on behalf of youth. She told us, “The new Decade of Action for Road Safety brings a clear opportunity for Member States to meaningfully involve young people in shaping the action plans about road safety and safe mobility.”  The resolution specifically calls on Member States to implement policies to protect youth and other vulnerable groups, to promote road safety knowledge and awareness among the population, especially among youth, and encourage partnerships and collaborations with youth and other groups. Read more from Ritu and the youth perspective HERE.

HOW NGOs CAN ENGAGE WITH THE RESOLUTION “NGOs play a crucial role in striving to meet the goals of the UN Resolution,” says Natalie Draisin, Director, North American Office, and United Nations Representative for the FIA Foundation. “An NGO that has successfully collaborated with the government, giving the [country's mission to the UN] something to highlight, makes all the difference.” NGOs can be a valuable support to their governments' missions, “Governments that are already stretched thin are often grateful for the support of NGOs, and having joint goals means you can claim collective ‘wins’,” says Natalie. “Often, missions will rely on NGOs to provide input into the High-Level Political Forum or other UN processes, by drafting part of the voluntary national review or identifying speakers. NGOs can offer to play that supporting role by helping ministries craft a plan to meet UN goals.” Natalie also includes tips for NGOs advocating during the pandemic, including the new Child Health Initiative toolkit on school journeys. Read more HERE.