Support for UN Decade of Action for Road Safety

(Caracas, May 11, 2011).- CAF - Latin American development bank - is supporting the UN General Assembly resolution which declares 2011-2020 the Decade of Action for Road Safety by continuing to promote the infrastructure sector in Latin America and, specifically, organizing road safety workshops in several countries of the region to improve knowledge on the subject.

The United Nations resolution encourages all governments to propose realistic targets for reducing traffic deaths and injuries and to take concrete actions to achieve them.

"While in CAF we have been working since our inception on infrastructure issues, focusing on the well-being of citizens and respect for the environment, we are pleased to join this UN initiative because road safety is one of the main problems of the sector," CAF President & CEO Enrique García said.

"Specifically, to address the deficiencies detected in obtaining solid, reliable and up-to-date information on the transport sector and mobility in the region, CAF has been backing the Urban Mobility Observatory (OMU) for Latin America and the Caribbean. This initiative began with an analysis of 15 metropolitan areas in nine countries in the region." "We believe it is important for our partner countries to have the necessary infrastructure and mechanisms to guarantee safer road conditions," García added

As its first actions under the Decade of Action for Road Safety, CAF has organized a series of workshops known as "Road Safety Audits” in the cities of Buenos Aires, Guayaquil, La Paz, Montevideo, Panama, Lima and Quito. These events are designed to strengthen the knowledge of professionals and local officials and facilitate access to international experiences in areas related to the road construction sector.

The workshops are given by US engineer Gregory Speier, a leading professional in the area of ​​road safety and internationally recognized expert.