Black Stars to support UN Decade of Action for Road Safety

 
During the international friendly with England, Ghana’s football team, the Black Stars, are to wear the United Nations’ new road safety Decade ‘Tag’, the official symbol for a 10 year effort to save millions of lives on the roads particularly in developing countries.
 
In a joint initiative between the Ghana National Road Safety Commission, Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the UN Decade of Action, the national team will give its backing to a global effort to improve road safety and reduce the death toll from road crashes.
Ghana’s players will launch the endorsement of the Tag and UN Decade during the match with England on 29 March at Wembley.
 
The UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 is due to be formally launched around the world on 11 May this year. Globally each year 1.3 million people are killed in road crashes with developing countries accounting for 90% of the death toll.
The Ghanaian Government has backed the UN Decade of Action and is playing a leading role in efforts to tackle this public health issue. The UK Government has also been at the forefront. The endorsement is aimed both at improving road safety worldwide and in Africa. By 2015 road crashes will be the number one killer of children aged 5-14 in Africa, outstripping Malaria and HIV/AIDS. The continent also has the highest road death rate per population in the world. The situation in Africa has prompted the Ghana team take a leading role in supporting the Decade of Action.
 
Together with the World Health Organization, the Commission for Global Road Safety is jointly coordinating the global launch of the UN Decade of Action.
 
John Mensah, captain of the Ghana national team said: “Far too many children are being killed and injured on the roads around the world. We are supporting the Decade of Action and we want to spread the message, to help make our roads safer.”
 
Fred Pappoe Vice President of the Ghana Football Association said: “We are proud that our footballers can lead the way on this UN campaign. This is a global crisis and it is right that football plays a part in helping this initiative to save lives around the world.” 
 
Noble John Appiah, Executive Director of the National Road Safety Commission, Ghana said, “Road safety goes beyond statistics. It’s about the pain, suffering, poverty reduction, loss of human resources and productivity. We expect this global initiative to have a significant effect for local efforts.”
 
David Njoroge, Commission for Global Road Safety’s Representative for Africa said: “Ghana’s footballers have stepped up to demand action. According to the UN we are facing a road deaths crisis of epidemic proportions which requires a global response. We need to save lives in Africa and across the developing world. This initiative with the Ghana team will be powerful in raising awareness globally.”