UN Road Safety Trust Fund approves first pilot projects

Road safety stakeholders from around the world have come together to advance the final steps in the operationalization of the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund.

Member States representing each of the United Nations Regions – Argentina, Lebanon, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Sweden – gathered in Geneva this week alongside UN, multilateral development banks, private sector representatives, civil society and academic partners for the second meeting of the Advisory Board and Steering Committee of the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund.

The Fund’s bodies approved 5 pilot projects, for a total of nearly USD 1 million.

Momentum continues to build in the mobilization of much needed resources for financing road safety action.

European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc and Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica this week announced the EU Commission’s pledge of EUR 900,000 (USD 1.035 million) to the Fund, highlighting road safety as an absolute priority in the EU and worldwide. Michelin also joined the Fund’s donors with USD 1 million support, bringing the amounts pledged to the Fund to approximately USD 17 million to date. The Government of the Russian Federation is finalizing consideration of a voluntary contribution to the Fund.

With the need to build on this initial momentum to urgently scale-up the resources required for action, the Fund’s Advisory Board approved the framework for a fundraising strategy and policy to mobilize further resources including from the private sector, Member States and innovative financing mechanisms.

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety Jean Todt stated: “I warmly thank our partners for their support to the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund announced this week, coming from two actors with a strong commitment to strengthening road safety efforts. I urgently call on all stakeholders to come on board and contribute to the Fund, scaling up the resources so desperately needed to catalyse life-saving action on the world’s roads”.

The Fund’s Global Framework Plan of Action for Road Safety was adopted as a basis for funding criteria and priorities for Trust Fund activities. The Framework adopts the “safe system” principles, integrating and helping build the Decade of Action for Road Safety’s Pillars of safe users; safe vehicles; safe roads; and effective post-crash response, together with good management across these areas, as well as achieve the United Nations global voluntary targets for road safety.

This Framework will guide the Trust Fund’s activities to assist low-and middle-income countries in developing and addressing key gaps in National Road Safety Systems. Through this approach, National Systems would be bolstered by international support to achieve results on the ground – including for countries’ accession to and application of the provisions of the UN road safety conventions and coordinated actions among United Nations agencies.

The Steering Committee approved the Fund’s first pilot projects. These 5 projects, for a total of approximately USD 1 million, address key components of national safety systems:

• Safe road – Scaling safe street designs in Ethiopia 
• Post-crash response - Improving road traffic fatality Data in Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal
• Safe user - legislation -   Strengthening legal frameworks for road safety in Arab countries   
• Safe user - enforcement - Strengthening speed management in the Philippines
• Safe user – Education for vulnerable road users – Capacity development on child responsive urban planning and sustainable urban transport in Paraguay, the Philippines and South Africa

“The adoption this week of 5 pilot projects marks the start of the operations of the UN Road Safety Trust Fund. These projects will address core road safety issues in a variety of low- and middle-income countries, which constitute the target of the Fund. As the host of the secretariat of the Fund, UNECE is proud to see projects adopted just a few months after the launch of the Fund last April. We look forward to working with all partners to support the implementation of these projects to contribute to savings lives”, highlighted UNECE Executive Secretary Olga Algayerova.

For more information, please visit the Fund’s website at: http://www.unece.org/unrstf/home.html

Established in April 2018, the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund aims to contribute to two major outcomes, assisting UN Member states to (a) substantially curb the number of fatalities and injuries from road traffic crashes, as well as (b) reduce economic losses resulting from these crashes. Building on the best practices and expertise developed through the Decade of Action for Road Safety, the Trust Fund will focus on supporting concrete actions helping to achieve the road safety-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Advisory Board will meet on an annual basis and provide strategic direction to the Fund. The Advisory Board will also advise on criteria for proposals, monitoring and evaluation, on priorities for funding projects, on the organizational structure and consultations. The members of the Advisory Board are:

• UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety
• Chair of the Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety (UNECE WP.1)
• Member States representing each of the United Nations Regions, selected by United Nations Regional Commissions:  Argentina, Lebanon, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Sweden
• Member State donors: European Commission
• Civil Society: Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety
• Research & Academia: Institute for Road Safety Research (SWOV), the Netherlands; Korea Automobile Testing & Research Institute (KATRI), Republic of Korea
• Private sector donors:  FIA Foundation, Total Corporate Foundation, Pirelli
• World Bank
• UNECE
• WHO

The Steering Committee has the direct oversight of the Fund and the authority to make decisions (including the approval of projects for funding) in line with the strategic direction provided by the Advisory Board. The Steering Committee is comprised of representatives from all five UN Regional Commissions alongside UN partners (UNICEF and WHO), multilateral development banks, member State donors, private sector donors and civil society.