The Government of Belize is continuing its series of road safety training courses, in support of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) funded Road Safety Project launched in March of this year.
From November 5 - 8, 2013, 97 persons participated in the fifth and sixth in the series of capacity building and knowledge transfer workshops on Road Safety which took place at the George Price Centre for Peace and Development, Belmopan and the Belize Institute of Management, Belize City.
The Road Safety 101 Training tailored to participants from Belize's Municipalities, Police Department, Tourism Police, Transport Department, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Works and Transport, Press Office, and the private sector.
The course built upon the previously held Introduction to Road Safety course by providing greater details on areas such as effective road safety management, effective monitoring and evaluation processes, and the identification of specific road safety countermeasures, including the essentials of an effective Emergency Medical System. It also expanded on the five pillars of the UN Decade of Action. The training concluded with participants developing an example of a project that supports the Belize Road Safety Project.
The course was facilitated by Ms. Mavis Johnson, Road Safety Consultant; Dr. Ward Vanlaar, Vice President Research, Traffic Injury Research Foundation in Ottawa, Canada; and Mr. Barry Johns, an International expert in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and its role in a comprehensive road safety strategy from the UK.
The Government of Belize has received USD7.2 million in loan financing from the CDB towards the cost of the Belize Road Safety Project and is contributing a further USD1.6 million.