Statement by WHO Director of the Department of
Violence and Injury Prevention and Disability
Dr Etienne Krug
Today on this World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, we at the World Health Organization turn our thoughts to the mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents and friends who have lost loved ones on the world's roads.
We think of the families of Aron, Mansoor, Elise, Mathilde - those whom we know personally - and the many others whom we have met around the world during the years that we have worked on trying to raise attention to road safety.
If there is anything that we have learned from all of you is that - while people handle their grief in many different ways - the lives of those affected by severe road traffic crashes are changed forever after these dramatic events and the grief and injustice caused often remain unanswered.
All societies and all of us as individuals need to do more to recognize the impact of road traffic crashes and better support those who are affected. We also need to do more to prevent these tragedies.
For those of you who choose to be involved in some way in marking the World Day of Remembrance, we commend you for your strength and courage and we are grateful for your dedication to drawing attention to the issue in your communities and countries.
Your very legitimate call to action does much to stimulate the political will of governments and all of us to recognize that more needs to be done.
Whether you find yourselves today in Brazil or Lebanon, the Philippines or Mozambique, Switzerland or elsewhere, the World Health Organization and the members of the UN Road Safety Collaboration value your contributions to preventing deaths and disability and promoting safety.
We wish you a successful World Day of Remembrance.