Marrakech: The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, emphasized on Saturday in Marrakech the essential role of young people in mobility and road safety to ensure safer and more sustainable roads.

According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, in a message read on his behalf by Etienne Krug, UN Special Envoy for Road Safety, at the opening session of the 3rd World Youth Assembly for Road Safety, Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for greater involvement of young people in strengthening road safety, especially as road accidents are the leading cause of death among this category.

‘Roads belong to all of us,’ he added, calling on the young participants to make their voices heard fully in order to play their central role in promoting safer mobility.

He added that many countries have made significant progress in road safety over the past decade, working to improve public transport and strengthen urban infrastructures dedicated to cyclists and pedestrians.

For her part, Ines Yabar, member of the supervisory board of the ‘Youth for Road Safety’ organization, emphasized the considerable impact of road accidents in terms of human and economic losses, as well as on the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ranging from poverty to climate change.

In the same vein, the Executive Director of the FIA Foundation, Saul Billingsley, called for particular attention to be paid to the crucial issue of road safety, stressing the power, essential role and commitment of young people in this respect, not only as victims of road accidents, but also as agents of change, capable of influencing public policy.

The opening session was marked by a vibrant testimony from the young Egyptian Rim El Sherbiny on her experience after surviving a car accident.

El Sherbiny called on decision-makers to involve young people in devising solutions for a safer, more inclusive transport system.