Developing global targets for road safety risk factors and service delivery mechanisms
AMEND
Despite an increase in the overall number of deaths, the rates of death relative to the size of the world population have stabilized in recent years.
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Developing global targets for road safety risk factors and service delivery mechanisms

Assignment given to WHO Secretariat in May 2016

Road traffic injuries are the tenth leading cause of death globally, responsible for around 1.3 million deaths each year. To accelerate action to reduce this burden, the UN General Assembly declared a Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011–2020). Recognizing the obstacle that road traffic injuries present to development efforts, Member States also included a specific target on road safety (SDG 3.6) in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Accelerating progress towards safer roads will be facilitated with the setting of performance targets and indicators. World Health Assembly Resolution 69.7, adopted in May 2016, requested WHO, in collaboration with other UN agencies and the UN Regional Commissions, to continue facilitating a transparent, sustainable and participatory process with all stakeholders to assist interested countries to develop global performance targets on key risk factors and service delivery mechanisms to reduce road traffic fatalities and injuries.

In response to WHA 69.7, the process which the WHO Secretariat has followed to develop the global performance targets is as follows:

  • September 2016: Meeting with technical road safety experts was convened to discuss candidate global targets for the prevention and control of road traffic injuries, associated indicators and the mechanism for collecting this information in order to generate a draft WHO Discussion Paper.
  • 31 October 2016: The WHO Secretariat released a WHO Discussion Paper containing a “zero draft” (version dated 31 October 2016) of the global voluntary targets for road safety risk factors and service delivery mechanisms for road traffic injuries. Versions in English and other languages are available on this page.

  • Until 15 December 2016: Member States and agencies of the UN system were invited to submit their comments in response to the WHO Discussion Paper by sending an email to roadsafetytarget@who.int. Non-State actors were also invited to submit their views using the same process. The contributions received in response to the WHO Discussion Paper were published online. Informal consultations will take place at UNECE’s Working Party 29 and the meeting of the UN Road Safety Collaboration.

  • 28 November 2016: The WHO Secretariat convened an informal session of Member States with a view to seek comments from Permanent Missions in Geneva on the WHO Discussion Paper.

  • January 2017: The WHO Secretariat published a first revision of the Discussion Paper.

  • January to April 2017: The first revision of the discussion paper went through another web-based consultation, as well as an informal Member State consultation and consultations with UNECE's Inland Transport Committee and UNECE’s Working Party 1. Non-State actors were invited to submit their views on this revision through the web-based process and through dialogues that will be organized with nongovernmental organizations and the private sector.

  • June 2017: The WHO Secretariat published a second revision of the Discussion Paper.

  • 21 November 2017: During the Meeting of Member States to Conclude the Work on the Development of Voluntary Global Performance Targets for Road Safety Risk Factors and Service Delivery Mechanisms, Member States finalized a comprehensive set of 12 global road safety targets. The report of the meeting and the targets themselves are available as links on this page. Member States also invited WHO and other UN agencies to continue the work by developing a set of related indicators.
  • 22-23 February 2018: To complete this work, an informal consultation of Member States on Road Safety Indicators was convened on 22-23 February 2018. The consultation was attended by representatives of more than 35 member States as well as several UN agencies including UNECE and UNICEF. Participants deliberated over 33 proposed indicators. At its conclusion a set of indicators covering process and outcomes for each of the 12 global targets was identified by the group. These indicators along with the global targets will help to guide action and ensure measurement of progress at the national and global levels. This page includes a visual consolidating the text of the 12 performance targets and their related indicators.