The World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Ministry for Health Malta, UNECE, FEVR (European Federation of Road Traffic Victims), Youth for Road Safety (YOURS) and the Tara Malou Licari Road Safety Fund, will host an international conference in Malta to mark the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2018 on Monday 19 November.

The conference is part of a series of international events to commemorate the World Day of remembrance around the world. The conference is being organized within the framework of the Biennial Collaborative Agreement (BCA) between WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Ministry of Health of Malta for 2018–2019. It also links to the Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) between Malta and the WHO Regional Office for Europe for the period 2016-2021.

The WHO Regional Office for Europe, along with national stakeholders including government, nongovernmental organizations, foundations, civil society and youth are invited to this one day conference in Valletta, Malta. They will join the global effort for road safety which involves stakeholders from more than 100 countries to commemorate the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, 2018. This year, the World Day of Remembrance focuses on the concept that roads are more than connections from point A to point B.

They have stories to tell, some of them tragic and worth remembering because they have lessons to share which can lead to improvements in road safety. The UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 is also aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG) and Sustainable Development Goal 3.6, which includes a target to reduce road traffic injury deaths by 50% by 2020.

Road traffic injuries are the leading killer among young people, with alcohol being a major risk factor for road traffic accidents in the WHO European Region. The United Nations Decade of Action of Road Safety and the associated United Nations resolution also recognize driving under the influence of alcohol as a key risk factor leading to death and disability on the roads. The work on improving road safety should not only be measured by counting road deaths but also the number of serious injuries. For every road traffic accident – both fatal and non-fatal – there are the untold human stories of devastation caused to the victims, their families, friends and the communities. Of particular concern is the number of fatalities and serious injuries among vulnerable road users including pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. In Malta, over 50% of road traffic fatalities are vulnerable road users. A personal connection to these numbers and the heartbreaking stories behind them is the reason why urgent action is needed if the SDG target is to be achieved.

Considering that road traffic injuries are preventable and the rapid motorization witnessed in the island, Malta recognizes the importance of stepping up in prevention efforts to reduce road traffic crashes. While effective interventions are available, their successful implementation requires sustained political will, financial commitment and even stronger intersectoral collaboration.

Brian is back with his monthly column giving his unique perspective on youth and road safety issues in Africa. Often, our perspective of African issues is shrouded by the media or stereotypes. Brian gives us a first hand opinion from the ground.

“You can’t rely on it”, you said. Why is public transport in developing countries such a pain in (deleted by editor). Forget the Human Development Index and all these multi-colored measures of development, gosh, there should only 3 indicators of development for any country in the world. 1) the ratio of number of trees to country population, 2) the quality of music and food, 3) the ratio of people using public to private means of transport.

Today, Uganda woke up to news of yet another fatal road traffic crash that cleared lives of 4 family members aged between 28-32 as they sped across the Northern Highway. These poor souls have just started to live for when you think about how much their parents/country invested in them and now they are no more because of something that could have been avoided; it’s disheartening. Last month, I was reading about how Nigeria loses two persons every four hours because of road crashes. Okay, it does sound like a rap song, but holy virgin! These humans are dying of avoidable risks. This shouldn’t be normal. Most die in private cars, and we all know the long stories behind these cars and the novice drivers:-from buying driving permits to road retired car conditions. In Tanzania, just last month, an over-loaded ferry capsized on lake Victoria where Death toll rose to 209. Yes, just like that, we lost probably a series of potential Nobel Prize Winners.

Yes, we could all buy private cars:-yeah, but at what cost? The road sizes seem to be stunted. With the population increasing between 2.1-3.6% per annum, how many cars shall we have on the road, and what about the curse we’ve already slapped onto our environment? I just read about THAT 1.5 degree Report where Temperatures are likely to rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2052 if global warming continues at its current pace and if the world fails to take rapid and unprecedented measures to stem the increase. Yo, we might not have any human life soon!

Anyway, like most of you, I spent 9 hours on a Public Transport Bus from Soroti (a local town) to Entebbe Airport to participate in Research Symposium on Enhancing Capacity for Maritime and infrastructure disaster response and management in Nairobi. I couldn’t miss this event for anything in the world as it was an opportunity for me to attend a PhD Peer Review Event as well as meeting my supervisor. Like many uptown public buses, there’re chicken, humans and other property. They seem not to have a quotidien, and stop to do whatever business every 5km. We have no provision for Persons with Special Needs, People Living with Disabilities and the seats…Oh dear, if you belong to the class of the “Senior Citizens” or you’re pregnant, good luck finding a doctor upon arrival.

Listen, this distance is 346km, meaning it would take about 6 hours 39 mins! As we got closer to the city,the inevitable happened: A long mean-looking obese epidemic of traffic jam stood across us. There was one way to get out of it. Spend more money on a commercial motorbike which saw us maneuver through the traffic like in one of those block-buster movies-and I mean, we broke a few rules: From riding on pavements to ignoring a red light (once). I’m neither Jamaican, Kenyan nor Ethiopian, but I splinted 800m in probably a record time to  make it as the last passenger to check-in.

Looking back, anything could have happened during that motorbike- plane-chase! The only comfort was using a Safe Boda Bike Company that could get me a helmet. Our governments need to do everything legal to make Public Transport sexy!

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From participating in leadership opportunities in high school to establishing his own consulting firm where he works with national nonprofit organizations in advocacy, Jacob Smith remains passionate about promoting safety issues and youth leadership.

“I am currently right now with various organizations. Most of them are youth participating organizations,” Smith stated. “Back in high school at Whitehouse High School, I was involved with FCCLA, which is Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. I went from serving as a national officer on the board of directors and now they are actually one of my clients. The organization is pretty strong in a lot of subjects, but ultimately it prepares students to make an impact in their families, careers and communities.”

Though he always considered going into a field of advocacy, he couldn’t imagine how large a part he would play or on how grand a stage he would perform.

“My biggest thing is mobilizing young people beyond safety,” Smith affirmed. “Safety is my passion and specifically traffic safety or road safety. Back in high school I was part of a few different organizations I still stay connected with but I never thought I would be on this scale in really being instrumental in mobilizing communities.”

Many might remember Smith as the high school student who, along with a teacher and another student, was hospitalized following a vehicle accident while returning from an FCCLA event in Corpus Christi in April 2014. It was his junior year.

As a result of the traumatic brain injury he suffered in that accident, Smith cannot drive himself. Yet, as he once wrote and still believes, we all have a choice “to get bitter or get better.”