Overview
The Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) Road Safety Working Group, established in 2009, is comprised of 10 member institutions that are uniquely positioned to support low and middle-income countries (LMICs) in meeting their considerable road safety financing needs. The objectives of the Working Group are to harmonize road safety investments, adopt common approaches among members, and scale up road safety financing to maximize impact.
The African Development Bank is the current chair of the Working Group, with GRSF managing the Secretariat function. The Working Group meets quarterly.
For all inquiries, please contact the MDB Road Safety Working Group Secretariat at @email.
Together we aim to support countries in achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal target 3.6 by increasing our financing for road safety investments with special attention to the needs of vulnerable road users and the poor, and by seeking synergies with other global priorities such as climate change.
Marco Yamagushi
Manager, Transport and Logistics Division, African Development Bank (current Chair of the Working Group)
Activities
High-Level Joint Statements
In November 2020, Working Group members signed a High-Level Joint Statement on Road Safety confirming their commitment to support the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 and to work together to achieve its goal of halving road crash fatalities and serious injuries by 2030.
The 2020 statement followed a 2012 High-Level Joint Statement, and a 2009 High-Level Joint Statement.
Analysis of MDB Road Safety Financing
A Working Group report published in May 2023 found that $3.6 billion was committed by its members to road safety financing during the period 2018-2022. MDBs are major financiers of transport projects in LMICs, approving a total of US$50 billion in road and urban mobility financing during the same five-year period—an average of around US$10 billion per year. This high level of lending is set to expand in the coming years. Ensuring road safety is an integral component of these broader transport investments provides a significant opportunity to boost road safety financing.
View the Working Group report on MDB road safety financing:
MDB Road Safety Financing in Low and Middle-Income Countries 2018-2022
Working Group Objectives
- Scale up MDBs road safety financing
- Harmonize project preparation and implementation approaches
- Adopt a common approach to global and regional engagements
Working Group Members
The MDB Road Safety Working Group is comprised of 10 member institutions: African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Development Bank of Latin America, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, New Development Bank, and the World Bank.
