UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety meets Pres. Marcos, transport and health officials to promote road safety and safe helmets for all

The UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Road Safety Jean Todt visited Manila from 7 to 11 November to promote road safety initiatives and advocate for enhanced measures, particularly on wearing safe helmets. Mr. Todt also promoted the #MakeASafetyStatement campaign, a joint initiative of the United Nations and JCDecaux to amplify the core messages of the New Decade of Action for Road Safety, which aims to halve road fatalities by 2030.

To kick off his mission, the Special Envoy met with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who pledged to create a road safety task force composed of representatives from the health and transport sectors who will work with the United Nations on road safety initiatives. Mr. Marcos also announced that the Philippines will participate in the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, which will be held in Morocco in February 2025. 

During his visit, Mr. Todt also met with Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Romando Artes, and representatives of the international community and private sector to advocate for improved road safety measures, particularly in law enforcement and education.

The visit of the Special Envoy comes two weeks after Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (internationally known as Trami) swept through the Philippines, flooding cities and villages and causing severe damage to road infrastructure. His last visit to the country was in April 2023. 

The silent pandemic

Every year, road-related fatalities claims the lives of 1.19 million people, leaving countless others with severe injuries. This silent pandemic overwhelmingly affects developing nations, where over 90% of the road traffic fatalities occur. Furthermore, road crashes are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years.  

According to the World Health Organization, road crashes kill almost 9,000 people in the Philippines each year, representing a road traffic fatality rate of 10/100,000 population, while the rate is 6.5/100,000 in Europe (WHO 2021). 

Wearing a safe helmet

While there are many causes of road crashes, such as the non-reliability of the vehicles and of the road’s infrastructure and design, the lack of post-crashes services, weaknesses in the road safety management, a dangerous road user’s behavior is still one of the main factors that lead to road fatalities. 

Asian countries have experienced rapid motorization in recent years, especially concerning motorized 2-3 wheelers. According to the Department of Health, 65% of road crash victims are motorcycle riders

“Wearing a helmet responding to the UN standards is a game changer. It reduces the risk of fatality by 42% and of injuries by 69%,” stressed the Special Envoy.

#MakeASafetyStatement

The #MakeASafetyStatement initiative launched globally in cooperation with JCDecaux Global promotes the UN Global Road Safety Campaign, which aims to raise awareness of life-saving road safety measures. 

The campaign, which will run through 2025 in over 80 countries, seeks to reduce risk factors, especially in urban areas, to enable people to walk, live, and enjoy their environment safely.  Sixteen global, and dozens of national, celebrities have joined forces to advocate for simple and effective road safety rules: wearing a seat belt, driving safely, wearing a helmet, not texting and driving, not driving under the influence or while tired, and respecting pedestrians. 

While in the Philippines, Mr. Todt met with International Olympic Committee member Mikaela “Mikee” Cojuangco-Jaworski and Olympic gold medallist in weightlifting Hidilyn Diaz to garner Filipino athletes’ support for the #MakeASafetyStatement campaign.

Among the artists, athletes and celebrities who have already pledged to support the campaign include F1 drivers Charles Leclerc and Mick Schumacher, motorcycle racer Marc Marquez, tennis legend Novak Djokovic, football icons Didier Drogba and Ousmane Dembélé, double Olympic Champion in track and field Faith Kipyegon, cyclist Tadej Podacar, Oscar-winning actress and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Michelle Yeoh, actors Patrick Dempsey, Michael Fassbender, Jean Reno, and Julie Gayet, singer Kylie Minogue, musician Youssou N'Dour, and supermodel Naomi Campbell.

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About the Special Envoy: Former United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, appointed in 2015 Jean Todt as his Special Envoy for Road Safety. He was reconfirmed in this role by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, in 2017 and in 2021. In 2018, together with 14 UN organizations, the Special Envoy launched the UN Road Safety Fund (UNRSF). The Special Envoy contributes, among other things, to mobilize sustained political commitment to make road safety a priority; to advocate and raise awareness of UN legal instruments on road safety; to share established good practices in this area; to strive to generate adequate funding through strategic partnerships between the public, private and non-governmental sectors.