Prothom Alo's Anowar Hossain receives WHO's best road safety award

Prothom Alo's Anowar Hossain has been awarded for the best reporting on safe road by WHO.

The report, 'All initiatives for safe roads at a standstill', depicts how the government initiative for safe road came to a halt due to the pressure by the transport owners and workers' leaders.

It also reveals the initiative taken to change the Road Transport Act in order reduce punishment for offences.

Increase of deaths in road accidents ever year and the students' movement for safe roads also featured prominently in the report.

Prothom Alo importantly publishes reports on safe road alongside the causalities in road accidents.

The Daily Star's Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary has been awarded the second prize while New Nation's Zakir Hossain Chowdhury the 3rd prize.

The awardee of first prize will get 1500 US dollars, the second awardee 1,000 dollars and third awardee 500 dollars.

In India, two correspondents of Times of India and another from Hindustan Times also received awards for reporting on road accidents.

WHO in a press release says over 1.3 million people die in road traffic crashes every year, with more than nine in ten deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries.

Road traffic injuries are the biggest killer of children and young people globally and up to 50 million people are injured in road accidents every year, it added.

“Road safety remains a salient issue globally,” said Johanna Carrillo, vice president of programs for the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ). “In-depth, solutions-oriented news coverage is critical for bringing attention to this important yet often under-reported topic.”

A distinguished panel of judges from WHO and ICFJ received 100 entries and selected three winners from six countries with high numbers of deaths – Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, India, and Uganda.

“The winning entries mark some of the best global coverage on road safety, and will help push for progress on building road safety systems to reduce the shocking and tragic toll on our roads that we all use every day,” said Dr Nhan Tran, WHO’s Head of Safety and Mobility.