7th UN Global Road Safety Week Organized In Nepal By Nasa Foundation
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Road traffic crashes have been the horrible causes of road fatalities and injuries worldwide. Almost 1.3 million people breathe their last on-the-road mishaps and around 50 million seriously get injured. Even the deaths among people aged 5-29 have challenged and terrorized road users.
World Health Organization (WHO), among various agencies under the UN, celebrates a periodic road safety week at an interval of 2 years in collaboration with different partners, charities, associations and members intending to reduce road traffic crashes by organizing several road traffic activities for effective and sustainable mobility.
UN has been working efficiently on various road safety issues on a specific theme based on road safety awareness for effective and sustainable mobility. The event is recognized as UN Global Road Safety Week which is celebrated globally in the month of May at an interval of every two years.
Why UN Global Road Safety Week? To bring uniformity in understanding member associations, To globalize the road safety issues at once, To collaborate globally on issues to face new challenges, To share information and technology and preventive measures with each other, To organize the government professional community, and corporate sectors in one place, To plan and program policy formulation globally, To understand the sensitivity of the victims and to create a common opinion on the remedial measures, judicial representation and compensation, To explore the alternative solutions and sensitize the political leadership, To mobilize the UN Agencies and their developing partners.
The UN Global Road Safety Week was first marked in 2007 and has been recorded every two years. Here the recorded dates, months, years and themes followed by activities to raise road safety awareness are listed:
| Year | Month | Themes |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | April (23-29) | #Youth Road Safety |
| 2013 | May (6-12) | #Pedestrain Safety |
| 2015 | May (4-10) | #Save lives #Save kids lives |
| 2017 | May (8-14) | Save lives #Slow down |
| 2019 | May (6-12) | Save lives #Speak up |
| 2021 | May (7-13) | Save lives #Low speed |
| 2023 | May (15-21) | #Rethink Mobility |
In 2023 the UN has especially focused on sustainable transport, in particular, the need to shift to walking, cycling, and using public transport. And the road safety activities to work on this year based on the theme #Rethink Mobility
On the occasion of the 7th UN Global Road Safety Week, NASA Nepal also celebrated its safety week being focused on the theme #Rethink Mobility and other road safety issues by organizing different road safety awareness programs in different parts of Nepal.
Calendar of Activities
Activities conducted on the occasion of the 7th UN Global Road Safety Week by the NASA Foundation in coordination with other associations in Nepal were organized accordingly:
| Activity | Location | Organizers |
|---|---|---|
| Interaction Program on Rethink Mobility & Helmet Safety Report Launching | Kathmandu | Nasa Foundation, FIA, National Alliance |
| Tudikhel to Dhulikhel Cycle rally and National workshop on cycling Safety and Pedestrian Safety | KU Dhulikhel | Cycle Culture Movement, Nasa Foundation, Dhulikhel Municipality |
| Media Campaign for cyclist and Pedestrian | Pokhara | Sancharika Samuha and Province Ministry for infrastructure Development |
| Road Safety Audit for Safer Road | Birendranagar | Nasa Foundation , Safe Sustainable Travel Nepal, Birendranagar Municipality |
| Interaction Programme on Policy Making for Safer Mobility and review for the Same | Kathmandu | Nasa Foundation and Auto Nepal Magazine |
The 7th UN Global Road Safety Week started on May 15 worldwide performing different road safety awareness programs. Nasa Nepal inaugurated the first day of the interaction program on ‘Safe and Sustainable Mobility’ in the presence of Yogesh Bhattarai – Former Minister of Culture, Tourism and Aviation and Member of the House of Representatives, Rangamati Shahi – Former Member of the House of Representatives, and other officials from different associations, clinical experts, engineers and participants.
On the same day, the meaningful interaction program on # Rethink Mobility was continued by the report launching of ‘Safe Helmet’ use. The discussion concluded on the use of costly and standardised helmets and emphasized their reliability and effectiveness from the point of safety.
Similarly, on the next day, an interaction programme on the role of media for cycling safety was fruitfully conducted in the presence of Tikaram Poudel – Former Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Motiram Timsina – Spokesperson, Pokhara Metropolitan City, Kabita Shrestha – President of Nepal Journalist Sancharika Samuha (Gandaki Pradesh) and other reputed officials. The leaders and the concerned authorities were committed to strengthening the road safety measures for the improvement and effectiveness of Safer Mobility including Cycling Safety. They are committed to distributing a portion of the budget for Road Safety planning.
Besides, a mass cycle rally from Tudikhel to Dhulikhel emphasized using cycles for transportation. The program raised the voice on cycling safety, cycle lanes and budget distribution.
A program of interaction for the improvement of safer and sustainable mobility was also organized in Birendranagar.In the program, the Mayor and other experts committed to working on different agendas and issues for safer mobility. On the same day, there was the launch of a road safety audit for improvement.
On the last day of the 7th UN Global Road Safety Week, a highly interactive program was conducted, n mainly focusing on the policy-making, agendas and implementation of road safety measures. The presence of potential personalities from responsible sectors, Krishna. Singh Basnet( Co-ordinator of Nasa Foundation), Roshan Kumar Shrestha (Publisher and Director of Auto Nepal Magazine), Bhusan Kumar Shrestha (Managing Director – Vintage Nepal), Dr. Manita Rajkarnikar and other authorities shared their opinions and emphasized on the effective implementation of road safety policy from local to central level to reduce road crashes.
In coordination with National Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Mobility, Nasa Foundation, Sancharika Samuha Gandaki, Safe Travel Nepal Cycle, Cultural Movement Dhulikhel and other associations celebrated the 7th UN Global Road Safety Week nationwide. Nasa Foundation and Global Alliance for Road Safety funded the noble cause. Similarly Rotary, Road Safety Society and different corporate sectors promoted the campaign with the support of the Physical Infrastructure and Transportation Ministry and Kathmandu Metropolitan City.
