MARRAKECH: Ministers from 100 countries endorsed the Marrakech Declaration for Global Road Safety which calls on govts to make it a political priority, ensure sustained funding and advance actions to achieve the goal of halving road deaths by 2030.
Leaders from around 50 countries, including Thailand, Bangladesh, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Colombia made major commitments to improve road safety in their countries.
The 4th ministerial conference on road safety organised by Kingdom of Morocco and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Marrakech saw participation of nearly 2,000 delegates from govts, multilateral agencies, civil society and major private players.
While Thailand pledged to bring road deaths down to 12 per one lakh population by 2027, Bangladesh made commitment to enact the country’s first national road safety law. Saudi Arabia will update the country’s national road safety strategy and Colombia will ensure more cities have speed limits of 50 kmph and 30 kmph. Guinea committed to ratify the African Charter on Road Safety and align regulations with international standards.
Similarly, Cote d’ivoire announced its target to increase helmet wearing among motorcyclists to 90% by 2027 and the United Kingdom will produce its first national road safety strategy in over a decade.
“Concrete commitments to move further and faster to save lives and boost road safety are just what we need to meet the goal of halving road deaths by 2030, and we’ve achieved that here. We commend the countries that made these commitments and we thank the Kingdom of Morocco for their leadership in hosting this crucial event,” said Etienne Krug, WHO director for the Department of the Social Determinants of Health.
Transport and logistics minister of Morocco, Abdessamad Kayouh said, “We are proud to have hosted this 4th Global Ministerial Conference in Marrakech, mobilising UN member states and our international partners around an issue that concerns us all. As Africans in particular and as active members of the international community, we must celebrate this milestone. Every decision made here must translate into lives saved.”
The Marrakech Declaration calls for safety to be a primary concern in all road infrastructure planning and related policies, laws and regulations. It calls for greater coordination across government ministries, including health, transport and the environment.
The declaration urges governments to adopt policies and infrastructure that advance safe, green and equitable mobility, such as walking, cycling and public transport. It recognizes that safe and accessible mobility drives equitable economic growth across society.