Washington, D.C. – Representatives of some 80 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from over 50 countries are at the headquarters of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) this week for a global meeting organized by the World Health Organization (WHO). NGOs will exchange knowledge on how to advocate for safer roads and take steps toward creating a global alliance to support the launch and implementation of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. The decade of action provides a framework for countries to improve road safety and save millions of lives over the next 10 years. It will be launched globally on 11 May 2011.  

The Second Global Meeting of Nongovernmental Organizations Advocating for Road Safety and Road Victims will spotlight initiatives from NGOs from the United Kingdom, Egypt, Tanzania, the United States, and Mexico, among others.  

Links

• Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020
• Faces behind the figures: voices of road crash victims and their families (2007)
• Global status report on road safety (2009)
• Report on Road Safety in the Region of the Americas (available in Spanish only)  

For interview requests and further information about the meeting, please contact:
Washington: Ms Donna Eberwine Villagran, Media and Communication Officer, PAHO, Office +1 202 974 3122., Mobile +1 202 316 5469 , email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Geneva / Washington: Ms Laura Sminkey, Communications Officer, Violence and Injury Prevention, WHO, Geneva, Office +41 22 791 4547, Mobile +41 79 249 3520, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it