Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety


The Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety is a collection of nongovernmental organizations that implement programs and lobby for road safety initiatives around the world. As an umbrella organization, it currently represents more than 200 member NGOs from 90-plus countries.

History

In May 2009, the World Health Organization convened 70 NGOs from 40 countries in Brussels for the First Global Meeting of NGOs Advocating for Road Safety and Road Victims. The objective was to discuss how NGOs could collaborate to advance the global road safety agenda. The meeting generated what is now known as the “Brussels Declaration,” which described the concept and outline for a Decade of Action for Road Safety. In September, the WHO asked nine NGOs from the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration to explore interest from NGOs in a platform that would facilitate information sharing. Exploratory conversations and surveys demonstrated that 89% of surveyed NGOs agreed a platform would be beneficial. In November, the Brussels Declaration was presented at the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Moscow by NGOs.
In March of 2011, the WHO organized the 2nd Global Meeting of NGOs advocating for Road Safety and Victims of road trauma, which was held in Washington, D.C. More than 100 individuals, representing more NGOs from 48 different countries attended the meeting, at which the platform for an alliance of NGOs for road safety was presented. In May of that year, the Decade of Action for Road Safety was launched by the UN General Assembly.
In March of 2012, the WHO formally established a steering committee of representative NGOs to launch the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety, from which an advocacy guide for NGOs was co-produced with the WHO in April. A year later, the Alliance hosted the 3rd Global Meeting of NGOs for Road Safety and Road Victims in Antalya, Turkey. This time, nearly 100 individuals from organizations representing efforts from 50 different countries attended. During the first meeting hosted by the Alliance, the first General Assembly for member NGOs to vote on Alliance bylaws and elect its Board of Directors was held. In September of 2013, the Alliances introduced its 2014-2018 Strategic Plan, outlining its specific goals for membership growth and development.
In September of 2014, the Alliance Board of Directors established a permanent Secretariat to serve as liaison to its member NGOs, while it became a member of the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration just a month later. Lotte Brondum was made the Executive Director, as the Global Alliance's first employee. Brondum had previously worked with the Danish government as an advisor on HIV/AIDS issues in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Vietnam; with Coca-Cola Sabco implementing an employer's health program, and as the Director of International Development at AIP Foundation. In December, the #SaveKidsLives campaign, guided in part by the Alliance, was launched by the UNRSC to gather signatures for the Child Declaration for Road Safety.
In March of 2015, the Alliance hosted its 4th Global Meeting of NGOs advocating for Road Safety and Road Victims in Marrakech, Morocco. Eight months later, the Alliance had coordinated the participation of more than 40 member NGOs at the 2nd Global High-Lebel Conference on Road Safety in Brasilia, Brazil. The Alliance announced its partnership with FedEx to launch the Alliance Empowerment Program for members during the Conference. In February of 2016, the Alliance launched a newly-redesigned website with the aim to improve information sharing among its members and the road safety advocate community. In April, representatives from the Alliance were in attendance for the 22nd meeting of the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration taking place at the New York UNICEF headquarters.
In June, the Alliance launched a Seed Program Pilot with funding from FedEx, and in August, hosted the 2016 Alliance Advocate training course in Memphis with FedEx. In April of 2017, a 5th Global meeting of NGOs was held in Malaysia, during which the Malaysia Declaration was signed by members and the kickoff event for the 4th UN Global Road Safety Week was held. The month after, members of the Alliance took part in the UN Global Road Safety Week, advocating for improved road safety measures, and reached at least six million people. That August, the second cohort of Alliance Advocates graduated at the FedEx World Headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee.
In October off 2017, the Alliance launched a new action brief, called “Walking the Talk,” at the Every Journey, Every Child Conference.
In April of 2018, representatives from the Alliance were present at the launch of the UN Road Safety Trust Fund, representing civil society.
In 2019, the FedEx Road Safety Awards were created to be awarded to members of the Alliance that exemplify Alliance values and have demonstrated growth and exceptional dedication to road safety. Awards are given for commitment to road safety and/or post-crash response over a period of time, active involvement with the Alliance and having contributed positively to advancing the Alliance mission, and having demonstrated a willingness to learn.

Criticism

In December of 2018, Adnan Hyder MD, PhD, MPH, a distinguished global health leader, published an article in The Lancet Public Health, criticizing the Alliance stating, “The presence of a global alliance for non-governmental organisations or a victims organisation in a country, though encouraging, is not enough, nor are these organisations sufficiently scaled, to ensure a public movement for safety in the countries that need it most.”

Honors and awards

In December of 2017, the Alliance received the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award.

Members

Africa and the Middle East

Kyrgyzstan:
Tajikistan:
Azerbaijan:
Iran:
Pakistan:
Lebanon:
Jordan:
Oman:
Egypt:
Tunisia:
Algeria:
Morocco:
Mali:
Niger:
Senegal:
Gambia:
Burkina Faso:
Guinea:
Sierra Leone:
Liberia:
Côte d'Ivoire:
Ghana:
Togo:
Benin:
Nigeria:
Cameroon:
Ethiopia:
Uganda:
Kenya:
Rwanda:
Tanzania:
Zambia:
Mozambique:
Botswana:
Namibia:
South Africa:
Cyprus:
Greece:
Portugal:
Spain:
France:
Ireland:
United Kingdom:
Denmark:
Sweden:
Latvia:
Belarus:
Poland:
Ukraine:
Moldova:
Romania:
Kosovo:
Bulgaria:
Turkey:
Armenia:
Georgia:
Luxembourg:
Netherlands:
Belgium:
Canada:
United States of America:
Mexico:
Dominican Republic:
Kazakhstan:
Russian Federation:
Costa Rica:
Venezuela:
Colombia:
Ecuador:
Peru:
Brazil:
Argentina:
Paraguay:
Uruguay:
China:
Korea:
India:
Nepal:
Bangladesh:
Vietnam:
Thailand:
Cambodia:
Malaysia:
Indonesia:
Australia:
New Zealand: