Al Hedfa: Our participation is driven by our sense of  responsibility to support national institutions
Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, an international leader in  sustainable development, announced today that it will be the Gold Sponsor of the 28th GCC Traffic  Week, entitled: "Let's work together to reduce traffic accidents,” which  will take place in Doha from March 11 through March 16.

  Commenting on the event, Group CEO of Qatari Diar Eng. Mohammed bin Ali  Al Hedfa said: "Sponsoring this important community event emphasizes our  organization’s effort to support community initiatives that shed light on of  the most dangerous issues facing the Arab World and the Gulf States – the soaring  rates of road accidents that has become a major threat targeting our youth."
Al Hedfa added, "Qatari Diar is constantly striving to address  such crucial issues that hinder growth and development in the GCC. Our  participation is driven by our sense of responsibility to support national  institutions in serving the community. We want to strongly contribute to the  success of the annual GCC Traffic Week activities through our participation.”
It is noteworthy that GCC countries started to mark the GCC Traffic  Week occasion more than two decades ago when the traffic departments developed  programs and slogans to establish a unified GCC system to serve all its citizens  and expatriates.
  GCC Delegations visit the host country during Traffic Week, where they inspect  the general traffic department to examine the vehicle registration system in  that country.
The GCC Traffic Week is a tangible representation of the social  solidarity and collaboration adopted by GCC countries in their attempt to eliminate  traffic accidents and attain the highest levels of road safety.
The event also embodies the tireless efforts by GCC countries to raise  awareness of traffic safety among their citizens and to enforce traffic laws,  regulations, and measures set out to prevent road accidents, which pose a very  dangerous threat to people's safety. Additionally, Traffic Week event provides  an opportunity for participants to exchange information, experiences and to lay  the foundations for achieving the desired road safety objectives.
Road accidents are one of the  biggest obstacles that hinder development in the Arab World and GCC countries. Arab countries incur an  annual loss of around $25 billion due to road accidents in addition to the human cost, whose  casualties are mostly young people.  Furthermore, road accidents represent the second-leading  hindrance of economic growth in developing countries, and the third-leading such  reason in industrialized countries.
The World Health Organization and the World  Bank reported that road accidents are the second-leading cause of death for  people aged 5 to 29 years. Traffic accidents are the third-leading cause of death  between 30-44 year olds in the Arab World, according to a study published last  May by the General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers.  The study also showed that human error is  behind 85% of traffic accidents in the Arab World with drivers' behavior  contributing to 73% of these accidents.
Although  industrialized nations have around 80% of the world's vehicles, they account for only 40% of the world's road accidents. On the other hand, about 60% of  road accidents in the world occur in developing countries, which have 20% only  of the world's vehicles.