World Health Day 2004: Road Safety
What is World Health Day?
World Health Day is an annual advocacy event marking the establishment of the World Health Organization (WHO). Held on 7th April, World Health Day is one of WHO’s key tools for engaging the general public in discussion and debate on important health issues. Although WHO is instrumental in providing overall coordination, combined efforts by a large number of partners can make a major contribution to change.
What are the aims of World Health Day 2004?
World Health Day 2004 will be a unique opportunity to raise awareness about the health impact and societal costs of road traffic injuries, highlighting the particular vulnerabilities of certain groups of road users including pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and passengers; and to issue a call for action to increase efforts to prevent road traffic injuries.
The World Health Day slogan is “Road safety is no accident.” Road safety results from deliberate efforts on the part of many sectors of society - government and nongovernment alike - once these sectors have acknowledged it to be an important and valuable public good, and have developed policies and programs to support and maintain it. By addressing issues of speed and alcohol consumption; promoting helmets and seat belts and other restraints; ensuring greater visibility of people walking and cycling; improving the design of roads and vehicles; enforcing road safety regulations; and improving emergency response services, those involved in road safety have demonstrated that the needless deaths and disabilities caused by road traffic collisions can be prevented.
Our commitment is key to bringing an end to this deadly scourge, which takes the lives of 1.2 million people around the world each year, disables hundreds of thousands more, and affects millions of families and communities.
What is WHO planning for World Health Day 2004?
With partners from around the world, WHO and its Regional and Country Offices will host events involving political leaders, major public figures, road safety experts, and the general public. At a global level event in Paris, France, WHO will launch the WHO/World Bank World report on road traffic injury prevention and will pay tribute to victims of road traffic injuries. Such initiatives will be the beginning of sustained efforts to keep road safety on the agendas of decision makers around the world.
What can organizations do?
Organizations around the world will be hosting events on World Health Day. These events will take various forms, and will range from launching new legislation, to hosting conferences and seminars, and orchestrating high profile advocacy events for the general public. To ensure visibility and impact, we encourage you to coordinate with WHO Regional and County Offices. For other ideas, you may wish to refer to the toolkit for organizers.
Whom to contact?
Ms Laura Sminkey, World Health Day 2004 Liaison Officer; Department of Injuries and Violence Prevention; World Health Organization; Tel: +41 22 791 4547; Fax: +41 22 791 4332; Email: traffic@who.int