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.