EASST Annual Report 2022

This year has seen unprecedented challenges across our region. On 24 February 2022, the Russian Federation, with support from Belarus, invaded Ukraine. This has had a significant impact on our work and the work of our partners across the region. EASST condemns the actions of both Russia and Belarus and we have suspended all work in these countries. This will remain EASST’s position for the foreseeable future.

 

EASST has sought to provide as much aid and relief to Ukraine as possible. We played a leading role in donating almost 70 UK fire engines and thousands of items of emergency rescue equipment to the Ukrainian State Fire Services through FIRE AID. We have also supported Nova Poshta, a logistics company based in Ukraine, with vital fuel costs associated with delivering humanitarian aid to local communities.

 

This report will cover more on the war in Ukraine, EASST’s response, and impact on EASST on pages 12-13.

 

Despite these challenges, we were grateful to be reunited for our first in person All-EASST partners meeting in over two years in June, coinciding with the 20th anniversary celebrations of the FIA Foundation. The FIA Foundation have been a core supporter and friend of EASST and our partners since our establishment in 2009 and we look forward to working together for many years to come.

 

Many of our partners have made significant progress towards improving road safety in their countries with a number of ‘firsts’. In Kyrgyzstan, we saw the installation of the first pedestrian traffic island in the country. In Moldova, we saw the first audio-signalled road crossings installed in Chisinau. And in Azerbaijan and Mongolia, we implemented the first school street ‘transformations’ – redesigning roads from a child’s perspective.

 

We also warmly welcomed national policy commitments in Armenia and Moldova to reduce speed limits around school zones to 30km/h following successful advocacy campaigns led by our partners. In Georgia, our partners’ advocacy efforts have seen similar changes at a municipal level across three cities – leading to speed reductions at over 70 schools.

 

These achievements demonstrate important developments in terms of road safety and, despite the huge number of challenges facing the region, indicates a strong commitment from our countries of operation to meet national and international targets to reduce road fatalities and injuries by 50% by 2030.

 

The year has ended on a high note as we received a Prince Michael International Road Safety Award in recognition of the outstanding success of our EASST Road Safety Education Pack. Our Director, Emma MacLennan was also honoured by ASIRT – the Association for Safe International Road Travel – for her outstanding efforts on behalf of global road safety.

 

The Trustees and I offer our most heartfelt thanks to our EASST partners and the staff team for working through another challenging year. We look forward to the new year and the new opportunities that it will bring to continue this important, life-saving work.

Lord Whitty, Chair of EASST