Pope endorses #SaveKidsLives

1 January 0001

His Holiness Pope Francis has given his support to the global, which draws attention to the 500 lives of children lost in road traffic crashes each day and urges action to reduce this preventable toll.

The Pope was briefed on the aims of the campaign in a private audience at the Vatican with Jean Todt, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, and Christian Friis Bach, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Angelo Sticchi Damiani, President of the Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) and Michelle Yeoh, global road safety ambassador, also attended.

Jean Todt outlined the road safety challenge and the need for governments and communities to prioritise road safety, beginning with putting in place effective traffic regulations. He showed Pope Francis a short advocacy film directed by Luc Besson entitled “Save Kids Lives”, produced in support of the #SaveKidsLives campaign, which draws attention to the 500 children, one every three minutes, who are killed every day on the world’s roads, by encouraging people to sign the Child Declaration on Road Safety. His Holiness Pope Francis showed great interest for the cause and signed in support of the campaign.