A Partnership Approach to Improving the Global Road Safety Crisis
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Local/Global Encounters
A Partnership Approach to Improving the Global Road Safety Crisis
KATHLEEN ELSIG
ABSTRACT Kathleen Elsig presents insights from the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) programme in coordinating the interests of diverse actors, including private sector partners, in an effort to deliver road safety improvements in developing and transition countries. She presents an overview of the GRSP programme and explains the tri-sector partnerships and the goals of the Business Partners for Development programme. This is followed by observations from GRSP about channelling the strengths of diverse sectors, including the private sector, to maximize the positive output of joint development initiatives. KEYWORDS planning; programmes; partnership; NGOs; World Bank; road safety
Introduction The issue of road safety is a crisis among some of the world’s most vulnerable communities, which include the poor and the young, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and those who use public transport. The majority of the 1.2 million people killed in road crashes every year lived in the developing world. In addition, as many as 50 million people are injured yearly; some are disabled for life. In all, 90 per cent of global road deaths and 96 per cent of all children killed worldwide are in poorer countries (Peden et al., 2004: 3). Many victims are primary breadwinners and their loss or disability has a ripple effect, often causing the suffering and poverty of dependants. Recent statistics from Kenya show that 75 per cent of road fatalities are among economically productive young adults (Peden et al., 2004: 6). Years of international donor assistance have failed to help developing countries keep pace with the rapid growth in motor vehicles and the consequent problems this has caused. Poor public awareness and a lack of government commitment and capacity have also exacerbated the situation. Current statistics indicate that the situation is worsening. The number of motor vehicles is rapidly increasing and there is a continued lack of investment in road safety. The scale of the problem is expected to rise significantly between 2000 and 2020. According to estimates in the recently published joint WHO/World Bank ‘World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention,’ by 2020 the number of road deaths will rise by Development (2004) 47(3), 114–121. doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1100060
Elsig: Improving the Global Road Safety Crisis 79 per cent in East Asia and the Pacific region, by 80 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa and by 144 per cent in South Asia (Kopits and Cropper, 2003). In short, the situation is a health, social and economic disaster for developing and transition countries. In many developing countries, road crashes represent an unwelcome drain on medical resources. The economic impact is huge with the developing world losing an estimated 1^2 per cent of annual gross national product. The direct economic costs for low-income countries is estimated at US$65 billion1 ^ exceeding the total annual amount received in develop
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