UN Youth Envoy includes road safety under Health Priority Area in 2021 report

8 January – the United Nations Youth Envoy released their annual report for 2021 that highlights the efforts of young leaders in helping achieve targets under different areas of the Sustainable Development Goals. The report discusses the efforts taken by the UN Youth Envoy under the leadership of Jayathma Wickramanayake to get closer to realizing the 2030 Agenda with and for young people. 

Included in the priority areas is the UN Road Safety Agenda which falls under Informed and Healthy Foundations. The UN Youth Envoy acknowledges road crashes as one of the leading causes of death for young people globally, killing more than a thousand youth every day. It highlights that, despite the staggering number of deaths, young people’s rights to safety on the road are often overlooked. 

Emphasized in the document is the support of the Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Youth (OSGEY) have for the UN Road Safety Agenda particularly in advocating for young people’s rights and needs in the space to engage with youth networks and movements. The report also lists down road safety efforts that support the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Special Envoy for Road Safety. 

The milestones that focused on having young people recognized in the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, launched last October 2021 was also lauded as a great victory for youth around the world. The Plan puts focus on the role of youth in shaping the future transport system and encourages stakeholders to consult with youth and engage with them in a meaningful way. 

The report lists down youth efforts according to priority areas. These reflect the three pillars of the United Nations, specifically, peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights. It also includes humanitarian action which builds on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

The five priority areas include; (1) Engagement, Participation, and Advocacy, (2) Informed and Healthy Foundations, (3) Economic Empowerment through Decent Work, (4) Youth and Human Rights, and (5) Peace and Resilience Building. Each area focuses on different areas of development under the global goals.

Achievements on crosscutting themes which include gender equality, climate action, innovation, and impact of all priority and foundational areas of Youth2030 were also listed. Different sessions, milestones, and efforts were identified that helped further the causes and results of the different themes.

The report concluded with the next steps for 2022. It writes “Youth2030 implementation will also continue to accelerate in 2022, including by working on priority areas of programming, through targeted outreach and technical support; building back better after COVID-19, with an equity focus; establishing a system-wide “youth-marker” to improve tracking of results and resources for youth in the UN”