Silent Pandemic On the Highways: UN Road Safety Envoy Urges Urgent Global Action
Road crashes kill more people each year than many diseases, yet they rarely make front-page headlines.
The United Nations Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, has described this global crisis as a “silent pandemic” and called for urgent, relentless action to save lives.
Mr Todt, who was received by the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed, at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja, warned that road traffic crashes claim over 1.2 million lives annually, leaving millions more with permanent injuries.
“The scale of road traffic crashes across the globe is nothing short of catastrophic.
This is a silent pandemic that continues to claim lives daily, and unless governments, institutions, and individuals take decisive action, the numbers will only rise,” he said.
While commending FRSC’s decades of leadership in enforcement, legislation, and education, the UN envoy pressed for a cultural shift in road use, stressing the importance of the Safe System Approach, safer roads, safer vehicles, stronger enforcement, and better post-crash care.
In response, Corps Marshal Mohammed reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to reducing deaths and injuries on the roads, noting that FRSC remains resolute in aligning with global standards and working with partners to achieve safer highways.
