May 11, 2011 – Today the world commemorated a special date, a massive event; all eyes were on the world wide launching of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. The World Health Organization, together with other local institutions, launched the Decade of Action in Beijing, China; where representatives of different cities in China shared their experiences concerning road safety and called on all Chinese cities to take further steps in ensuring road safety. A forum to discuss the prevention of road crashes was held after the ceremony. Many countries around the world as well as international agencies, civil society organizations, the private sector and others have summed to this global initiative seeking to prevent road traffic deaths and injuries around the globe. The RTIRN also reaffirms its commitment to support the Decade of Action.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 3,500 people die every day in a road crash. Yet, road traffic injuries can be prevented. The United Nations General Assembly has established a set of actions focusing on planning and evaluating preventive interventions in order to “stabilize and then reduce the forecast level of road traffic fatalities around the world.” The implementation of these interventions, as well as the monitoring and evaluation activities associated with them, will last throughout the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.
With the objective of facilitating networking activities and supporting the interaction of people dedicated to improve road safety, the Road Traffic Injuries Research Network (RTIRN) has designed a special webpage on its website dedicated to publicizing the activities that the road safety community and their institutions did and are doing for the Decade.
The RTIRN is in the process of obtaining more funding to keep doing the work that has proved to be key for capacity development in LMICs: i) Supporting and promoting young and experience researchers and multicenter research initiatives in low and middle income countries; ii) The RTIRN will continue releasing quarterly its Newsletter where the activities and studies of our partners on road safety will be disseminated; iii) The RTIRN will keep organizing workshops and webinars to build capacity in low and middle income countries about road safety.
Contact
Ricardo Pérez-Núñez,
Tel: +52 777 1023946
Email: secretariat@rtirn.net
About RTIRN The Road Traffic Injuries Research Network (RTIRN) is a partnership of more than 517 individuals and institutions from 63 countries that collaborate to further research into the impact and causes of road traffic injuries in low and middle-income countries, and to identify appropriate interventions to the problem. RTIRN’s vision is to reduce the burden of road traffic injuries through the promotion, conduct and utilization of research. For more information about RTIRN, please visit www.rtirn.net.