Events to be held in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and Washington, DC
On Thursday, May 9th, National Football League stars will ditch their shoulder pads to don soccer cleats for a match in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in an international road safety campaign designed to curb traffic deaths among young people.
Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Ronnie Cameron, Carolina Panthers cornerback Drayton Florence Jr., former linebacker Akin Ayodele, who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cowboys, Dolphins, Broncos and most recently the Bills, former Minnesota Vikings player Corey Chavous and former New York Giants linebacker Barrett Green will play a soccer match with local Haitian youth who have completed a road safety pedestrian safety course.
They will be joined by their sponsor Jack Brewer, a former NFL safety for the Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Arizona Cardinals. He is the founder of the Jack Brewer Foundation, which supports educational and development initiatives in underprivileged communities.
The soccer game is one of a series of high-profile events the Inter-American Development Bank’s Youth Unit is promoting to supporT the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, a program launched in 2011 with the mission of saving five million lives by 2020.
Each year, 1.24 million people die as a result of traffic accidents, and close to 50 million suffer nonfatal injuries. Every six seconds, someone is killed or maimed on the world’s roads, with more than 90 percent of these incidents occurring in low- and middle-income countries.
Road accidents are now the leading cause of death in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) among people aged 15 to 29, and the second leading cause of death for those aged 5 to 14. Traffic crashes also carry a large economic cost: many LAC countries lose 1–2 percent of GDP annually from crashes.
While there are no national statistics for traffic fatalities in Haiti, experts say road accidents take a heavy toll among the young.
During Global Road Safety Week (May 6-12) and Global Youth Safety Month (May), the IDB will be making campaign-related multimedia materials available to news outlets.
The Bank launched its road safety strategy in 2010 at the Bank’s Annual Meeting in Cancun, Mexico and since has been focusing on road safety programs in Latin America and the Caribbean in an effort to support the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety. The Decade was launched in 2011 with the mission of saving five million lives by 2020. The IDB’s Youth Program has been promoting road safety through strategic campaigns to raise awareness and empower young people to be safe on the roads.
List of this Month’s IDB-Supported Road Safety Events:
Tuesday, May 7, 6-8 p.m.
Road Safety Reception at Inter-American Development Bank Headquarters
1300 New York Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20577, Seventh Floor Terrace
The IDB kicks off its Global Road Safety Week with a reception for policy makers, youth leaders, and advocates. Invited guests include Kweku and Ndaba Mandela, grandchildren of former South African President Nelson Mandela, who lost his great granddaughter Zenani Mandela to a road accident in 2011.
IDB Youth will be announcing its new partnership with Sesame Workshop, the FIA Foundation and Ernesto Arguello, a philanthropist on NBC’s Ready for Love. Together they will develop the first-ever tool kit on road safety for youth. Monika Samtani, Traffic Reporter for WUSA9, will emcee the event.
Contact: Diana Braier, IDB Communications Specialist, 202-255-5435 (CELL), 202-623-1713 (OFFICE), dianal@iadb.org
Wednesday, May 8, 10 – 11:00 a.m.
National Launch of Global Youth Traffic Safety Month and Global Road Safety Week at Jefferson Memorial
*Sponsored by NOYS (National Organizations for Youth Safety)
Ohio Drive, SW and E Basin Drive, SW
Washington, DC, 20024
The U.S.kick-off of Global Youth Traffic Safety Month (GYTSM), which is a month long campaign that empowers youth to engage in traffic safety projects in their communities. GYTSM celebrates and highlights the work being done to save the lives of our youth on the road. New key data on youth summer driving crashes and teen driver crash data from 2011 will be unveiled.
Advocates mark Global Road Safety Week and Global Youth Traffic Safety Month with a youth rally, program, and a march titled The Long Short Walk and Roll to raise awareness about safe driver and pedestrian habits. Distinguished guests include Kweku Mandela, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, , U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman, U.S. Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Tom Frieden, White House Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator David Strickland and South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool.
Contact: Cathy Gillen, NOYS Media Consultant 443.463.4449 cathy@cathygillen.com
Thursday, May 9 (2:00-4:30 p.m.)
Soccer Game: Haitian Youth vs. NFL Players
at the YMCA in Port au Prince
Laboule 12, Tara’s Petion-Ville
Youth who complete the IDB’s Do Your Part: Safe Roads for All road safety training will be invited to compete in this special sporting event sponsored by IDB Youth, YMCA Haiti, the Jack Brewer Foundation and One World Futbol.
Contact: Christine Coupet Jacques, On the ground inHaiti, christinejacques4@gmail.com, (011) 509 37020558 (CELL)
Contact: Diana Braier, IDB Communications Specialist, 202-255-5435 (CELL), 202-623-1713 (OFFICE), dianal@iadb.org