The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, on Tuesday launched the Indian leg of a global road safety awareness campaign aimed at reducing traffic fatalities and promoting safer behaviour on roads across the country.

The campaign, titled #MakeASafetyStatement, was unveiled during a press briefing in New Delhi as part of the UN–JCDecaux Global Campaign for Road Safety. The initiative features public figures and sports personalities encouraging simple, everyday actions that can significantly lower the risk of road crashes and injuries. As part of the rollout, digital billboards and posters carrying road safety messages will be displayed in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru, while the campaign will also be promoted widely through social media platforms.

Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar supported the national launch by releasing a video message endorsing the initiative, joining a global group of celebrities and Olympic champions designated as Global Champions for Road Safety. Tendulkar, who also serves as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia, has long been associated with campaigns related to public health, education and child well-being.

Addressing the media, Todt described road crashes as a “silent pandemic” that continues to claim thousands of lives each year, particularly in rapidly motorising countries like India. He noted that collaborative efforts and sustained public awareness are essential to reducing the number of victims on the roads and strengthening road safety systems.

The envoy’s visit to India comes nearly a year after UN Member States endorsed the Declaration of Marrakesh, committing to accelerate progress under the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, which aims to halve road traffic deaths and injuries worldwide by 2030. In India, road traffic accidents remain a major public health concern, with an estimated 153,972 deaths annually and a mortality rate of 15.4 per 100,000 population. Vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, account for a significant share of these fatalities.

The #MakeASafetyStatement campaign focuses on mitigating key risk factors associated with road crashes by promoting measures such as wearing seat belts and helmets, driving at safe speeds, avoiding mobile phone use while driving, not driving under the influence or while fatigued, and respecting pedestrians and cyclists. First announced in 2022, the global campaign is being implemented in partnership with outdoor advertising company JCDecaux and is expected to reach 80 countries and 1,000 cities by the end of 2026. It has already been deployed in more than 50 countries, including Belgium, the United States, Japan, Nigeria, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates, through public displays in airports, metro stations, train stations, shopping centres and other public spaces.

Alongside the awareness drive, the United Nations also launched a new initiative funded by the UN Road Safety Fund titled “Sustainable Financing for Road Safety in India: A Collaborative Approach.” The project is being implemented with technical support from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. It aims to strengthen coordinated and sustainable financing frameworks for road safety, build national and sub-national capacities for effective implementation of action plans, and reduce fatalities and serious injuries that often lead to long-term disabilities.

The project will be carried out in collaboration with the states of Rajasthan, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Assam under the coordination of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office. UN officials emphasised that with India’s rapid growth in mobility and urbanisation, sustained policy action, institutional coordination and public engagement will be critical to achieving national and global road safety targets by 2030.