WHO EMRO: YLB member represents youth voices during regional launch of Global Plan
Last week, 25 November, the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office held a special live stream for the regional launch of the Global Plan for the new Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. The session focused on how the Plan can be utilized by stakeholders, especially in the context of the East Mediterranean region.
The session featured different leaders including HE the Minister of Health – Engineer Fahad Al-Jalajel, Director of the National Road Safety Agency in Morocco – Engineer Benaceur Boulaagoul, Director General of Traffic of the Royal Oman Police – Brigadier Dr. Mohammed Al Rawas, Director of the Emergency Care Unit from the Ministry of Health in Tunisia – Dr. Henda Chebbi, and more.
Global Youth Coalition Youth Leadership Member, Sana’a Khasawneh from Jordan, was also among the esteemed speakers of the event where she provided a youth perspective when it came to road safety issues.
During the session, different road safety leaders talked about the importance of coming together to prevent road crashes from happening in the future as well as responding to its impact in the community by supporting victims and their families.
HE Engineer Fahad Al-Jalajel acknowledged that there have been successful efforts to reduce the number of road crash fatalities in different parts of the world, naming Saudi Arabia as one. He also recognized the fact that there is still more work to be done so that the global community achieves the road safety targets listed in the new Decade of Action.
The speakers also talked about how the Plan will support these efforts, calling it a “foundation of discussion.” The Plan touches on the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders, asking the different speakers about how the different sectors respond to the Plan and how they will implement different projects and initiatives to respond to transport and mobility issues locally and, eventually, globally.
During her intervention, Sana’a highlighted that, for the first time, young people are acknowledged and listed as one of the key stakeholders when it comes to implementing the strategies needed to halve the number of road-related deaths and injuries worldwide.
She makes it a point to reiterate the results of the previous Decade, explaining that there will be a lot of work to be done to make sure that all road users are protected. She calls on leaders and decision-makers to start meaningfully engaging with young people and including them in all stages of project management and implementation.
“In the Second Decade of Action, I would like to see the obstacles removed. We should be involved because we are educated, we are passionate. We have a strong will to realize our goals. We deserve a seat at the table.”