UNECE, UNICEF, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs launched the Road Safety Performance Review – RSPR which provides a detailed assessment of the road safety system in Uzbekistan, including the level of compliance with United Nations road safety legal instruments, and pinpoints concrete measures to save lives.

“International independent experts have never studied road safety in Uzbekistan. UNECE and UNICEF initiated this kind of cooperation, which will contribute to the improvement of the road safety system in the country”, noted Colonel Olim Saidov, the Head of the Road Safety Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

RSPR highlights good practices in road safety and emphasizes the importance of accession to and implementation of key United Nations road safety-related legal instruments as an effective means of improving the road safety system at the national and local levels. The review also identifies the most critical aspects for the development of the national road safety system and offers recommendations for its improvement.

“In the past decade, the Government of Uzbekistan has demonstrated a long-term commitment to improving road safety”, said Nenad Nikolic, UNECE Regional Advisor. “However, with road crashes remaining in the country’s top five causes of death, there is a clear need for a systematic improvement of the national road safety system, focusing on the most vulnerable road users”.

The number of road accidents and fatalities in Uzbekistan remains very high, more than 45% above the EU average. Such figures bring substantial economic costs, and depending on the data sources for Uzbekistan, different estimates of socio-economic costs range from 2.6% to 3.8% of GDP.

Given the rapid motorization and growing economic activity in Uzbekistan, there is a critical need to address road safety holistically by implementing targeted actions at all levels to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries, along with the related human, social, and economic costs and the burden on the health sector.

“In Uzbekistan, traffic accidents are the leading cause of death of children and young adults aged from 5 to 29 years. These deaths are largely preventable, and evidence-based solutions exist”, said Geoffrey Ijumba, Deputy Representative, UNICEF Uzbekistan. “UNICEF will continue close collaboration with the government to build the capacity of implementing partners, raising awareness within communities, and mobilizing resources through local and national partnerships”.

The political will to improve road safety in Uzbekistan is a strong basis for further improvements. Implementing the recommendations provided in the Review will help improve the road safety system in Uzbekistan.

The review’s findings should be used to design a compelling future road safety strategy, actions, and interventions. The results could also improve road safety behavior, strengthen local knowledge and research and development capacity, promote road safety ownership and accountability, and raise public awareness of the benefits of improving road safety in Uzbekistan.

N.Usmanova, UzA