On 17th October 2012, EASST’s Kyrgyz partner the newly established Kyrgyz NGO ‘Road Safety’ held a meeting with newly appointed Vice Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Mr. Tayirbek Sarpashev.
Ms. Chinara Kasmambetova, Director of Road Safety NGO, informed Mr. Sarpashev about the work of the new NGO – the only NGO in Kyrgyzstan focused on road safety. The Vice Prime Minister expressed support for their activities and his willingness to participate in a short video promoting the use of seat belts.
Chinara Kasmambetova and Vice Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic
Road safety is an area of concern in Kyrgyzstan. Based on the Asian Development Bank formula for costing road casualties, the scale of death and injury on the roads of Kyrgyzstan cost the economy around $250 million in 2011, or 4.3% of GDP.
At 2,190 deaths per million vehicles the road safety problem in the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the worst in the world. The primary victims of crashes in the Kyrgyz Republic are pedestrians, who account for 44% of crashes and 34.5% of deaths – among the highest proportions in the UNECE area. The new NGO will work to achieve the aims of the UN Decade of Action on Road Safety – a reduction in predicted road casualties by 50% by 2020.
Road Safety NGO was established with an EASST grant in April 2012. The Vice Prime Minister welcomed the creation of such an NGO and expressed his willingness to support their future activities.
