Bloomberg Philanthropies Selects Ten Cities & Five Countries to Participate in New Phase of the Global Road Safety Initiative

NEW YORK, Feb. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bloomberg Philanthropies today announced the winning cities and countries selected to participate in a new phase of the foundation's Global Road Safety Initiative, which aims to reduce fatalities and injuries from road traffic crashes. With a new commitment of $125 million over five years, the program will work at both the national level to strengthen road safety legislation and the city level implementing proven road safety interventions. Twenty invited cities participated in the competition with ten cities and five countries selected as official participants in the program. The five countries selected to receive technical support to review and strengthen road safety legislation include China, India, Philippines, Thailand and Tanzania.

The ten cities are:

1. Accra, Ghana;
2. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;
3. Bandung, Indonesia;
4. Bangkok, Thailand;
5. Bogota, Colombia;
6. Fortaleza, Brazil;
7. Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam;
8. Mumbai, India;
9. Sao Paulo, Brazil; and
10. Shanghai, China.

The selected cities will receive:

• Senior-level, full-time staff to work within city governments on their road safety initiatives for up to 5 years
• Comprehensive technical assistance from the world's leading road safety organizations
• Training for police officers and other relevant city staff
• Support to create hard-hitting mass media campaigns

"We can prevent millions of road traffic fatalities and injuries through stronger laws, more effective enforcement and better infrastructure. The 10 cities selected to participate in our next five-year road safety program have demonstrated a commitment to this work, and we are excited to support them," said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and three-term mayor of New York City. "Road traffic deaths will become increasingly common in the years ahead, unless we take decisive action now to prevent them."

The proposals that cities submitted detailed how they plan to address road safety by applying solutions to a number of challenges including improving pedestrian and cyclist safety, increasing awareness through graphic media campaigns and increasing police enforcement to combat drinking and driving and speeding as well as encouraging the use of motorcycle helmets, seat-belts and child restraints. Infrastructure solutions such as widened sidewalks and improved pedestrian crossings are also included in the cities' proposals.

With assistance from the world's leading experts in road safety, winning cities will establish an elite network of visionary municipal leaders who commit to implementing bold, new efforts to save lives and protect their citizens from road traffic injuries.

"The investments in road safety by Bloomberg Philanthropies since 2010 have driven momentum for the UN's Decade of Action on Road Safety, energized the NGO community worldwide and led to significant legislative advances in many countries," said Saul Billingsley, Director General of the FIA Foundation and Co-Chair of the Road Safety Fund. "Bloomberg Philanthropies has shown great vision and leadership in supporting global road traffic injury prevention, and we hope other public health philanthropies will heed and follow their example."

Proven Results against a Preventable Killer and Lifesaving Impacts:

More than 1.2 million people die and 20-50 million people are severely injured from road traffic crashes around the world every year. Since Bloomberg Philanthropies began working on road safety in 2007, nearly 2 billion people have been covered by strengthened road safety laws, 65 million people have been exposed to hard-hitting media campaigns promoting road safety, close to 30,000 professionals have been trained on road safety tactics and local governments have committed $225 million towards infrastructure improvements that will make roads safer.

In 2010, Bloomberg Philanthropies committed $125 million to 10 countries that represented half of road traffic-related deaths globally (Brazil, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Kenya, Mexico, Russia, Turkey and Vietnam). Brazil, Kenya, China, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, Cambodia and Vietnam have all passed life-saving road safety legislation, including stricter penalties for drinking and driving and applied speed reduction laws.

For example, in an unprecedented shift, China instituted stronger penalties for drinking and driving in 2011, and in 2013, Vietnam penalties were established for motorcyclists wearing helmets that failed to meet safety standards. Similarly, in Cambodia, a strong road safety bill was passed in January 2015. Part of the law now requires all motorcyclists, including drivers and passengers, wear a helmet. Additionally, the interventions have had a notable impact on the ground. In Ivanovo, Russia, in 2014 88% of car riders wear seatbelts, a sharp contrast to 2011, when less than half wore life-saving seat-belts.  

Bloomberg Philanthropies' Road Safety partners providing support to winning cities and countries include:

EMBARQ 
EMBARQ is a part of the World Resources Institute and is based in Washington, DC. They work on sustainable urban transport, urban design, pedestrianization, mass transit, and sustainability planning.

Global New Car Assessment Program 
Global New Car Assessment Program (Global NCAP) is a registered charity based in London, England. They work on promoting and conducting independent research and crash test programs in emerging markets where vehicle growth is strong but independent safety rating information is not yet available. 

Global Road Safety Partnership 
Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) is a part of the International Federation of the Red Cross and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. They have expertise in training police on road safety laws such as drinking and driving, speeding, and seat-belt and helmet use.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is an academic institution based in Baltimore, Maryland. The school's International Injury Research Unit works on surveillance and evaluation of road safety risk factor interventions, as well as enhancing post-crash trauma services globally.

National Association of City Transportation Officials 
The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) is a non-profit association based in New York, New York. NACTO facilitates the exchange of transportation ideas, insights and best practices among large cities, while fostering a cooperative approach to key issues in urban planning, pedestrianization, and road design.

The Union North America 
The Union North America (UNA) is an international public health organization, specializing in working with governments to plan, implement, and evaluate public health initiatives. UNA will be the principal liaison with the Mayor's office/central city authority in coordinating the initiative.  UNA will also provide the technical assistance around mass media to participating cities.

The World Bank-led Global Road Safety Facility 
The Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF), a World Bank global partnership program based in Washington D.C., aims to address the growing crisis of road traffic deaths and injuries in low- and middle-income countries. GRSF helps countries assess high-risk roads, provides technical assistance, funding and advisory services, and makes policy recommendations for multi-sectorial integration of safety into road projects.

World Health Organization 
The World Health Organization (WHO) is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, WHO is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends. As part of this program, WHO supports countries to implement and improve compliance with effective road safety legislation and regulations, train journalists on road safety, and publish a Global Status Report on Road Safety. 

About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies' mission is to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Public Health, Environment, Education, Government Innovation and the Arts. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg's charitable activities, including his foundation and his personal giving. In 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $462 million. For more information on the philanthropy, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @BloombergDotOrg.

CONTACT: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Meghan Womack, +212-205-0176, [email protected]

SOURCE Bloomberg Philanthropies