UN Global Road Safety Week: May 15-21, 2023
The United Nations Global Road Safety Week is an annual event held in May to increase awareness about road safety and the significance of taking preventative measures. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and UN regional commissioners organise the week, which is supported by a diverse variety of partners, including governments, NGOs, enterprises, and individuals. The week was first marked in 2007. It was no longer observed until 2013, and it had been recorded every two years since then until 2019. It is a special global road safety campaign hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) that aims to raise awareness about road safety and accident prevention.
UN Global Road Safety Week 2023: Theme
The 7th UN Global Road Safety Week will be held this year from May 15 to 21. The focus is sustainable mobility, specifically the necessity for governments to encourage people to walk, cycle, and take public transport. Road safety is both a prerequisite for this shift to happen and an outcome of it. The slogan is #RethinkMobility.
The WHO estimates that road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for people aged 5-29 years worldwide. In 2020, there were an estimated 1.3 million road traffic deaths, and many more people were injured. The vast majority of these deaths and injuries could have been prevented.
UN Global Road Safety Week is an important opportunity to raise awareness about the dangers of road traffic and to take steps to make our roads safer. By working together, we can save lives and improve the health and well-being of people all over the world.
Key messages of the 7th UN Global Road Safety Week:
• Governments and their partners need to rethink mobility – this includes investing in walking, cycling and using public transport, which can promote equity and health for people and the planet.
• Safety must be at the core of efforts to reimagine mobility – this puts road safety at the core for all road users.
• As a result, road networks must be planned with the most vulnerable people in mind, including children, adolescents, people with disabilities, walkers, cyclists, and public transit users.
• Walking and cycling, when safe, contributes to people’s health and makes cities sustainable and societies equitable.
• Safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable public transport solves many of society’s ill.
Cyclone Mocha: All about the storm
