The Multilateral Development Banks’ (MDBs') Road Safety Working Group met at the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Marrakech, Morocco. The conference was, by a significant margin, the largest ever gathering of the global road safety community, occurring as the world reached the midpoint of the second UN Decade of Action for Road Safety (2021-2030). Previous global ministerial conferences were held in Stockholm, Sweden (2020); Brasilia, Brazil (2015); and Moscow, Russia (2009).

At the meeting, the MDB working group reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the central goal of the second UN decade of action: halving road traffic fatalities and serious injuries between 2021 and 2030. In this regard, MDBs expressed their strong support for the Marrakech Declaration—agreed to by parties at the Ministerial conference—which outlines a roadmap for making meaningful progress toward this goal, and which emphasizes the central role of MDBs in providing financing for road safety projects at the country level. The working group also stressed the importance of deeper collaboration among MDB members to scale up road safety financing in their respective institutions, harmonize project approaches across MDBs, and adopt common strategies to maximize the impact of road safety investments.

Members highlighted the critical role that MDBs can play in bridging the $400 billion road safety funding gap, which is the estimated amount needed to pay for road upgrades, enforcement campaigns, vehicle safety improvements, and other interventions that collectively can halve road crash fatalities globally over 10 years. MDBs called for stronger collaboration among national governments, private partners, and the international donor community to bridge the funding gap and advance road safety initiatives worldwide. Results- and policy-based lending, together with sustainable bonds and loans, were discussed as pivotal tools for unlocking new financing and ensuring that road safety policies and projects deliver measurable benefits for all road users.

It was announced that, between 2018 and 2024, MDBs worked closely with governments to mobilize over $6 billion in road safety financing in LMICs, resulting in significant reductions in road deaths and injuries. Still, working group members stressed that traditional funding mechanisms are proving inadequate to meet the challenges posed by the global road safety crisis, as noted in a recent report, Financing Road Safety: Catalyzing the Sustainable Finance Market to Bridge the Gap, produced jointly by several global institutions. This report highlights new and emerging instruments that can mobilize private capital to fund essential road safety improvements.

With growing demand for roads and urban transport investments, MDBs estimate that their road safety financing could reach $10 billion over the next decade. Strengthening road safety requires a shared commitment, with national governments playing a central role in prioritizing investments within their transport, law enforcement, and health sectors. Sustainable finance can support and complement domestic efforts, ensuring that road safety remains a strategic priority within national infrastructure planning.

The MDB working group released a press release in multiple languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Above: Photos from the meeting of the Multilateral Development Banks' Road Safety Working Group at the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety