WHO Road Safety Reporting Contest

Deadline: December 1, 2021 
 
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) conducted a WHO Road Safety reporting contest to raise awareness and spur dialogue around critical – yet underreported – road safety issues with a Vision Zero/Safe System Approach. 

Journalists reporting on road safety in English, Spanish or Portuguese in Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, India, and Uganda were eligible. To be considered, a road safety story must be published between August 1, 2021, and December 1, 2021. In each of the eligible countries, a $1,500 first-place prize, a $1,000 second-place prize, and a $500 third-place prize were awarded in March of 2022. The winners of the contest are listed here. 

Underreported issues include road design and quality, unsafe and polluting used vehicles, cost and extent of crash-related injuries, air pollution due to exhaust emissions, safe public transport, and urban cycling. Multimedia stories, podcasts, photo reportage, cross-border stories, and series of stories were welcome. Collaboration within newsrooms or across borders, use of social media and audience feedback, post-story engagement with policy- and decision-makers, and other ways of maximizing the impact of the reporting were highly encouraged. 

Learn more about ICFJ’s WHO Road Safety Reporting program.