01/07/2023

Child Road Safety on the international cooperation agenda: presentation of results

As recommended in the Global Road Action Plan 2020-2030, the Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez works in a network with international organizations, academies, companies and governments to incorporate and strengthen policies that comprehensively address the complexity of the issue, and through alliances and the establishment of local and regional networks ensure its sustainability.

In this sense, and thanks to the support of AUCI and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, we were able to add road safety to the country's cooperation portfolio for the first time, based on the work experience of the Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez. Within this framework, a South-South Cooperation project was integrated between the governments of Uruguay and El Salvador, which contributes to improve road safety in El Salvador, taking advantage of Uruguay's experience. In addition to integrating the objective of adding road safety to the cooperation agenda of the bilateral Uruguay-Colombia exchange actions.

During the event, the primary results of the Child Road Safety Expansion Plan to Central America, supported by Fundación Puma Energy, which Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez has been developing in Colombia, El Salvador and Panama, were presented. The event highlighted the progress made by the National Road Safety Agency on Child Road Safety in Colombia, which had its highest point when hosting the 4th International Forum on Child Road Safety (FISEVI) in the country. In addition to the support and articulated work that the Foundation carries out in the country with civil society, academia and the private sector, promoting technical capacity and knowledge to strengthen public policies.

In the case of El Salvador, the great commitment assumed by the authorities of the Vice-Ministry of Transportation to advance in terms of governance at national and territorial level, in order to reduce deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents, promoting joint actions with the Road Safety Management Foundation and the generation of skills to strengthen internal processes, was highlighted. Technical support and networking with the Foundation are fundamental pillars for the incorporation of child road safety in the national agenda, which has been ratified by the commitment to host the 5th edition of FISEVI to be held in April 2024.

And finally, the manifest interest of the high authorities of Panama to include the subject in their work agendas for 2023 and to leave installed capacities to advance in public policies.

"What started as a good initiative of the Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez, became something bigger; we are not only talking about Child Road Safety but also about the development of Public Policy in the region", said Mariano Berro, AUCI's Executive Director.

"Thanks to this exchange of knowledge provided by the Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez, today we can generate a debate in the region to develop Public Policy in our countries", said Dr. Alejandro Meires, General Director of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay.

"For the Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez it has been a historical fact that thanks to the work carried out over the last 16 years, national authorities have decided to include road safety in the international cooperation agenda, and thus, with the support of the organization, we can provide technical support and accompany the processes of the governments interested in this matter", said Ma. José Pessano, Executive Director of Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez.