Background More than 500 children die each day from road-related injuries – 186,000 annually. By harnessing the reach, reputation and responsibility of corporations working with governments, NGOs and civil society, Safe Roads || Safe Kids demonstrates the power of public-private partnerships to elevate awaress of road safety for children and hasten adoption of changes to protect lives.

Description of the problem While high-income countries are experiencing declines in deaths from road injuries, death rates are rising in 68 countries. Children living in poorer nations are most at risk. More than 90% of child road deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. By 2030, deaths from road crashes are expected to surpass deaths from HIV/AIDS, malaria and other infectious diseases. And it is our most vulnerable road users – children – who are most at risk. This is a tragedy that we can predict and prevent.

Results

• In its 15th year, Safe Kids Worldwide’s Walk this Way program, sponsored by FedEx, supported pedestrian safety in 10 countries, educating 1,298,000 students in 2,893 schools.

• In 2014, Safe Kids, FedEx, and partners launched Safe Roads | Safe Kids to focus attention, awareness and resources on road safety for children.

• In May 2015, Safe Kids, with support from FedEx, celebrated Global Road Safety Week, coordinating 300 events across 89 cities in 17 countries, drawing more than 46,000 participants. To date, the #SaveKidsLives campaign has 900,000 signatures.

• To date, Safe Roads || Safe Kids has resulted in new corporate support (Denso, BG Group), joining long-standing commitments from FedEx and GM Foundation.

Conclusions If we hope to meet the goal of saving 5 million lives by 2020 as set forth by the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, we need a clear plan of action and a broad coalition poised for leadership on this issue. The results of Safe Roads | Safe Kids provide support for achieving these goals through public-private partnerships.