Former US President Bill Clinton, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Make Roads Safe Global Ambassador Michelle Yeoh at the Clinton Global Initiative, New York
The FIA Foundation has committed funding of US$10 million towards improving seat belt and motorcycle helmet use during the Decade of Action.
The announcement was made by Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, and Michelle Yeoh, Make Roads Safe global ambassador, at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) on 22nd September during a plenary session with former President Bill Clinton. The FIA Foundation’s 10 year ‘CGI commitment’ will catalyse national helmet wearing and seat belt initiatives, primarily in the developing world, during the Decade of Action for Road Safety. Projects must be sustainable in the long term and engage political support for legislative action, standard setting and enforcement. The Global Helmet Vaccine Initiative (GHVI), which is currently establishing programmes in Cambodia and Uganda, will be a major beneficiary. Funds will also be provided to the FIA Foundation’s own Global Seatbelt Vaccine Initiative. Funding from this programme has recently assisted road safety organisations in Georgia to introduce a new seat belt law which closes loopholes and improves police enforcement. The FIA Foundation’s commitment follows a previous 10 year CGI commitment of US$10 million in 2009 for the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP).
FIA Foundation Director General David Ward also chaired the first ‘Road Safety Action Network’ meeting at the Clinton Global Initiative. The road safety action network brings together public and private sector CGI members with an interest in road injury prevention. Participants included Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank. The high profile Clinton Global Initiative brings together senior government figures, CEOs and the development and international policy community for an annual meeting in New York. Speakers at this year’s event included US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, former UK prime minister Tony Blair, former US First Lady Laura Bush, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Bill Gates. For the first time road safety was given a high profile at the CGI, with a plenary announcement of road safety commitments. Besides the FIA Foundation, other commitments were made by organisations including the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation, the Asian Development Bank and iRAP, the Gonzalo Rodriguez Memorial Foundation, and global advertising agency WPP plc, which committed pro bono PR support for the Decade of Action launch.
David Ward, FIA Foundation Director General, said:
“The FIA Foundation’s ten year commitment to improve helmet and seat belt safety will catalyse and enable practical efforts to save lives. We hope through this investment to leverage additional financial, political and technical support for helmet and seat belt initiatives. The Clinton Global Initiative brings together the world’s leading policymakers, philanthropists and business leaders, and provides an excellent platform to raise awareness and encourage action for road safety. We are very grateful to former President Clinton and to Mayor Bloomberg, himself the world’s leading road safety philanthropist, for their support in giving road safety such a high profile as an emerging global issue at this year’s CGI Annual Meeting.”
Click here to watch the announcement of the FIA Foundation's 10 year 'CGI Commitment' >