DILI, 09 february 2024 (TATOLI) – The President of the Republic, Jose Ramos Horta, on thursday, met with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, at the Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace, to discuss the importance of road safety in Timor-Leste.
Death and injury from traffic accidents on the roads have become a major health and development challenge globally. Road traffic crashes kill the young and middle-aged between 5 and 29 years old and cause 12% of all deaths worldwide.
According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) new Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023, it notes that 28% of all road traffic deaths occur in Southeast Asia, representing the highest absolute number of road fatalities globally. The region reports 16.1 deaths per 100,000 population due to road disasters, three times higher than the European average of 5/100,000 (WHO 2023). According to the WHO, the mortality rate in Timor-Leste is 12 per 100,000 population (WHO 2023). With 25% of road traffic deaths in the country since 2018 (WHO, 2023), unsafe roads represent a leading cause of preventable deaths in the country, especially among the youth and young adults (WHO, 2019).
The UN Special Envoy’s visit to Timor-Leste is to advocate for the effective implementation of the Global Plan for the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, which aims to halve the number of road victims by 2030.
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt said: “Even as we walk on foot in this region, roads will become the leading killer of children worldwide, so it is time to act to protect vulnerable road users. For Timor-Leste, my mandate as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety is to support President Horta, the government and stakeholders in their work to build safe and sustainable roads for all.”
Over the past decade, Timor-Leste has prioritized improving the national road network and increasing the number of legally licensed drivers through testing centers to improve knowledge of road rules. Public awareness campaigns on road safety have also improved, addressing issues such as drunk driving, speeding and pedestrian safety.
President Horta, with his utmost dedication to the well-being of the Timorese people, highlighted the importance of improving road safety standards and infrastructure to reduce accidents.
“Timor-Leste has made important progress on road safety, but much work remains. Ensuring road safety is our shared responsibility. Through improving road safety standards, infrastructure, public awareness, education, and enforcement, together we can build a safety culture that protects all people in Timor-Leste,” said Horta.
The President and Special Envoy discussed opportunities to strengthen road safety through legislation, education and cooperation with regional and global initiatives. President Ramos-Horta underlined the importance of engaging stakeholders at all levels, including government, civil society and international partners, to achieve sustainable results and impact on road safety and recognized the importance of public-private partnerships in scaling awareness campaigns and road safety initiatives that drive positive change across the nation.
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
