On Thursday, March 21, GRSF and the World Health Organization convened a meeting of road safety lead agencies to discuss road safety management priorities. The roundtable discussion provided an opportunity for lead agency heads to focus on regional similarities and differences, as well as challenges and critical success factors.

Good practices related to establishing and sustaining a road safety lead agency, the development and management of crash data systems, managing the emerging risk of motorcycles, and opportunities and risks of digitalization were the main topics of discussion during the half-day event. GRSF and WHO also explored ways for both organizations to continue and deepen their support for road safety lead agecies going forward.

Strengthening road safety management in low- and middle-income countries is a pressing priority. GRSF’s Road Safety Management Capacity Review guidelines identifies seven institutional management functions that provide the foundation for in-country road safety management, namely: a results focus at the system level, coordination, legislation, funding and resource allocation, promotion, monitoring and evaluation, and R&D and knowledge transfer. Effective delivery of these management functions is essential for the design and implementation of interventions that can achieve road safety results over time and save lives.

Road safety lead agencies that develop national strategies and coordinate multi-sectoral efforts to improve road safety can play a critical role in this process. By sharing experiences and learning from one another, road safety lead agencies can strengthen their capacity to lead road safety management efforts in their countries.

Participating countries in the roundtable discussion included Armenia, Croatia, India, Morocco, Nigeria, Paraguay, Romania, and Zambia.

Event Photos