Local NGOs inaugurate UN Global Decade of Action
THE non-governmental organisations (NGOs) ‘Alicea Foundation’ and ‘Mothers in Black’ yesterday hosted a function to inaugurate the UN Global Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 -2020.
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, who was one of the speakers on the occasion, said the ceremony is one of global activities in nations around the world. He observed that Guyana faces a challenge as  regards road safety in the wake of rapid expansion and development.
Rohee added:“There are more challenges being faced by the Police Traffic Department and the Police Force, in general, with respect to criminal activities in the country, as our economy expands and becomes more dynamic and, as investments increase, there are more cars on the streets and highways.”
In relation to ways of curbing the carnage resulting from increasing road accidents, he said, in addition to the enforcement of laws and regulations, there is a greater need for education at all levels.
Rohee continued:“Road safety, for us, is a daily business. We are on the streets and we perform and conduct our responsibilities on a daily basis. It is a question of not just enforcement of the traffic laws but of education, which must go hand in hand.”
In that context, he charged other NGOs and relevant bodies to use every forum available to continue educating people, whether in urban or rural communities.
Minister Rohee lauded the efforts of the NGOs in promoting the programme at the national level and for playing a very important role in road safety advocacy in collaboration with the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) and other agencies.
He gave the assurance that his ministry will continue to support the activities to mark the Global Decade of Action for Road Safety.

Congratulated
“For this occasion, I would like to give my blessings to this activity and to congratulate and thank Mothers in Black. This NGO has, once again, chartered the course and started the journey for an entire decade of activities and, for that, it ought to be congratulated,” Rohee said.
Also addressing the gathering, Deputy Traffic Chief, Assistant Superintendent John Daniels pointed out that the forum will act as a reminder to all road users in the wake of the alarming accidents rate countrywide.
He reported: “Over the last 10 years, 1377 persons were killed in fatal accidents. Of those, 199 were children, 568 pedestrians and 160 drivers. This shows that pedestrians are the most vulnerable.”
During the same period last year, there were 37 fatalities from 37 accidents and, for this year, there have been 40 fatalities in 40 accidents, Daniels said.
But he assured that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and its Traffic Department will continue to educate all road users and enforce the law where necessary and prosecute persons on the basis of evidence.
“We are trying our utmost to minimise the rate of accidents in our country through the implementation of overt and covert day and night patrols,” Daniels outlined.
He also revealed that, very soon, a road safety programme would be included in the schools curriculum, as efforts intensify to educate people on the proper procedures.
Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) Representative in Guyana, Dr. Beverely Barnett, acknowledged that issues related to road safety are, definitely, a priority in this country.
“Guyana has been taking action to improve road safety, including enacting laws against drinking and driving, speeding and enforcing the use of helmets and seat belts,” she observed.
The diplomat explained that the Global Decade of Action hopes to save five million lives, prevent 50 million serious injuries and save US$5 trillion over the next 10 years, through the implementation of measures such as the construction of bicycle and foot paths and separate motorcycle lanes as well as improved access to safe transportation.
About the anticipated impact of the programme, she said: “It calls for more and stronger laws and better enforcement of the laws that exist and for a change in the behaviour of road users and improvement of post- crash care.”
Barnett highlighted that traffic crashes kill more than 140,000 people each year in the region of the Americas and more than five million suffered non-fatal injuries, many resulting in permanent disabilities.
This, ultimately, has a tremendous impact on the productivity of any country, she admitted.
Barnett noted that the United Nations General Assembly has endorsed the Global Decade of Action for Road Safety to call attention to the growing impact of traffic injuries and deaths and the need to strengthen prevention and control measures.
“In 2010, there were 115 road fatalities in Guyana. However the country is not unique in facing these particular challenges and, for that reason, the programme was endorsed,” she informed.

Establishment
Barnett said the establishment of the multi-sectoral Guyana Road Safety Council was a big step forward and reaffirmed that PAHO/WHO will be pleased to continue supporting the approach to dealing with the challenges.
Founder of Alicea Foundation and Mothers in Black, Ms. Denise Dias, reiterated that road safety is everybody’s business.
“We all have an integral role to play in keeping our children and young people safe,” she stated.
Recalling the loss of her 17-year-old daughter, Alicea, Dias said, like her family, too many other Guyanese families have had to suffer the pain of losing their loved ones in tragic road crashes on our nation’s roads.
She said the start of the Global Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 sends the message that it is time for action now, as road crashes are the leading cause of death of young people under the age of 18.
As part of the auspicious event, those gathered, including Minister Rohee, Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green and other distinguished guests joined  members of the Alicea Foundation and Mothers in Black in releasing balloons in memory of the victims of road crashes in Guyana and affixing their signatures to the Global Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.
Alicea Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded in 1997 in memory of Alicea Gouveia, who died in a road accident. She, unknown to her parents, Denise and Dennis Dias had taken out an insurance policy and they used the money paid on it to start the NGO which later led to the formation of Mothers in Black.
The UN acted in the face of a rapidly escalating road safety crisis, in which, each year 1.3 million people are killed on the world’s roads and the death toll is set to rise, dramatically, over the next decade, unless action is taken.
Developing countries, particularly badly affected, account for 90 per cent of global fatalities.