The United Nations on Tuesday (February 24, 2026) launched a project in partnership with four States for a road safety financing framework.
To be implemented across Rajasthan, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Assam under the coordination of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, the project will focus on building national and sub-national capacities for the effective implementation of road safety action plans and on reducing road fatalities and serious injuries that lead to disabilities.
The project will be funded through the UN Road Safety Fund.
The project was launched in the presence of Jean Todt, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, who told The Hindu that the world was not on track to achieve the pledge to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by at least 50% by 2030 under the “Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030.”
“Education, enforcement, fitness checks, road signages, post-crash care are all important areas that India must focus on,” Mr Todt said, adding that “India has 600 daily deaths due to road crash, or 25 every hour. Plus, there are those who are injured for the rest of their life. This is a burden for the country. The World Bank estimates that this amounts to 7% of GDP.”
