In supporting Asian and Pacific countries to improve their road safety, ESCAP, as one of the participating United Nations entities, assisted in preparing and implementing road safety projects under the United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF), which was established in 2018. Furthermore, ESCAP is working with its development partners and member States towards the operationalization of the Asia-Pacific Road Safety Observatory (APRSO).
Road safety is a considerable sustainable development challenge for the Asia-Pacific region as it accounted for nearly 60 per cent of global road crash fatalities, with more than 700,000 road users killed on the region’s roads in 2019. ESCAP resolution 74/3, “Improving road safety in Asia and the Pacific for sustainable transport systems,” called for strengthened international cooperation and knowledge-sharing on road safety at all levels and encouraged all members and associate members to intensify national efforts and regional collaboration. The key objective was meeting the road-safety-related targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and taking steps to improve road safety. In accordance with ESCAP resolution 78/3 “Implementation of the Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Transport Development in Asia and the Pacific”, the secretariat, in consultation with the member countries, developed “the Regional Plan of Action for Asia and the Pacific for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030”.
ESCAP uses technology, innovation, automation, digitization, regional and multi-stakeholder cooperation, data analysis and technical assistance tools to assess and implement:
- Vulnerable road users like pedestrians, cyclists etc.
- Safety system interventions and key risk factors.
- The plan of action for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety.
- Improved road crash data management systems.
