Government 'Friends of Decade' meet in Stockholm

14 June 2013

Governments and international agencies supporting the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety have met in Stockholm to review progress and discuss how to better promote road safety on the international agenda.

The meeting reviewed the progress of the Decade of Action at the two-year point, focusing particularly on the impact on national policy with reports from the countries present.

The Friends of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 is an informal group of governments and international agencies committed to making the Decade a success. The group first convened in November 2009 in the context of the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, with several ministers of transport and health representing their governments. Since then the Friends of the Decade of Action has been instrumental in shaping the political agenda that lead to the declaration of the Decade of Action in May 2011 and the development of its Global Plan.

The group discussed and defined possible next steps in a number of key areas, including road safety and the post-2015 development agenda; global targets and indicators for the Decade of Action; and innovative funding mechanisms for the Decade. Subgroups were created to further develop actions needed in each of these areas.
An agreement was made to hold meetings of the Friends of the Decade of Action on a yearly basis as a means of generating continued attention and action at a global level throughout the Decade of Action.