Tony Blair Gets Make Roads Safe G8 Message

The UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has met with Lord Robertson, the Chairman of the Commission for Global Road Safety to discuss the Make Roads Safe report.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair receives a copy of the Make Roads Safe report from Lord Robertson and David Ward

At the meeting in 10 Downing Street, Lord Robertson presented Mr Blair with a copy of the report and raised road safety in Africa as a possible issue for the next summit of G8 summit of leaders of the major industrialised countries which will be held in Heiligendamm, Germany on June 6th.

At the 2005 Gleneagles summit, during the UK presidency, G8 leaders agreed to double aid to Africa and support increased investment in the region’s infrastructure including roads. To facilitate this, the G8 has created the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa. Africa has the world’s most dangerous road network and AU Transport Ministers have adopted the goal to reduce road traffic fatalities by half by 2015. Improved road infrastructure can play a significant part in contributing to achieving this ambitious goal.

So far the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa has not addressed the issue of the safety of the region’s road infrastructure. The Consortium met in Berlin in January this year and discussed road infrastructure issues but did not discuss road safety. However, African Ministers of Transport and Health issued the Accra Declaration in Ghana in February calling on the G8 and the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa to ensure that road safety measures are included in new road investment in the region.

Lord Robertson asked Mr Blair to support this request. The Prime Minister expressed his interest in this issue and confirmed his full support for the major recommendations of the Make Roads Safe report and also for the forthcoming UN Global Road Safety Week. Also attending the Downing Street meeting was the FIA Foundation, Director General, David Ward.

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