 |
Search : | ||
|
|||
News
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Red
Cross Red Crescent Federation supports call to put global road safety
on the G8 agenda 23 June 2006 With a global toll of an estimated 1.2 million people killed each year on the roads – that’s more than 3000 people every day, of whom 500 are children - the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is supporting a call to place the issue of road safety on the agenda of G8 countries. The next G8 summit is scheduled for July 2006, in St. Petersburg. In its 1998 World Disasters Report, the International Federation was one of the first organizations to ring the alarm bell about the enormous number of traffic deaths and injuries at the global level, and their dramatic consequences on people and livelihoods. Some 50 million people worldwide are estimated to be injured in road crashes each year, 15 million of them seriously, and by 2020, unless action is taken, road traffic injuries are predicted to rise overall by about 65%. Following this report, the International Federation, the World Bank and the British government department for international development, DFID, decided to create the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) to bring together governments and governmental agencies, the private sector and civil society to urgently address road safety issues, especially in low and middle-income countries, where 80% of traffic deaths and injuries occur, and where numbers continue to increase. The GRSP is “hosted” at the Federation Secretariat, in Geneva. On 22 June, Lord Robertson, former NATO Secretary General and leader of the International Automobile Federation’s Commission for Global Road Safety, will launch a global road safety report at the GRSP annual meeting, currently being held in Moscow, to increase worldwide mobilization on the subject, and place global road safety on the agenda of the G8 meeting. The Federation is strongly associated to this launch through GRSP and encourages politicians and decision-makers to accelerate the fight against one of the largest scourges of today. In addition, the Federation and the GRSP are actively supporting an increasing number of road safety programmes implemented by Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies all over the world. They are also pushing for the development of a “road safety culture” within the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and assisting many initiatives, such as first aid training for commercial drivers and public sensitization on road safety measures. As a member of the main United Nations international panel on road safety, which is led by the WHO, the Federation stresses the urgency of new and effective measures built with strong community involvement. Road safety is a priority for the Federation’s 185 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and G8 attention to the scale of the disaster will help fill a serious gap on the issue at the international leadership level. For further information, or to set up interviews, please contact: Magdalena Slastushinskaya, Information officer tel: + 7 (495) 126 15 66 /+ 7 (495) 991 1713 Marie-Françoise Borel, Media Officer Tel +41 79 217 33 45 Media Service Duty Phone (Out of hours) Tel: + 41 79 416 38 81 The Geneva-based International Federation promotes the humanitarian activities of 185 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies among vulnerable people. By coordinating international disaster relief and encouraging development support, it seeks to prevent and alleviate human suffering. The Federation, National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross together, constitute the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. © International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
