HVT, in collaboration with the International Road Federation and SuM4All, will host an official side-event at the annual summit of the International Transport Forum (ITF) on Friday 20th May to discuss the development of more resilient and inclusive transport in low-income countries (LICs) as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic has impacted transport systems in an unprecedented way. In LICs, where the sector is particularly vulnerable to economic and climate-related shocks, COVID-19 created huge challenges for most transport systems as they tried to mitigate the spread of the disease whilst keeping economies and people moving. It has left many governments compelled to go back and re-think priorities. Some countries and cities have managed the crisis with more resilience, others are using the opportunity to prepare themselves for future events by building better systems.
This session will examine the findings from our research projects, including evidence from the COVID response and recovery programme. Drawing on the common outcomes from this research the session will map a way forward to build transport systems that are inclusive and resilient to future pandemics and climate change shocks, and which keep economies moving.
Organised in the form of a panel discussion with a strong focus on LICs, the session will endeavour to answer the following questions:
- What can we learn from how transport systems responded to the pandemic, especially in LMICs?
- How do we build more resilient transport for the future?
- How do we keep people and economies moving whatever the challenges?
- What kind of reforms are needed to deliver more equitable and resilient urban transport?
- How to turn policy into action?
The keynote speaker will be Anne Joselin, Infrastructure Advisor at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The panel will be comprised of Dr Nancy Vandycke, Manager at SuM4All; Kevin McPherson, Principal Consultant at TRL; Tom Fleming, Associate at ITP; Bronwen Thornton, CEO Walk21; Anouar Benazzouz, President of the International Road Federation (IRF); Dr Rutul Joshi, Associate Professor at CEPT University, India; Bernard Obika, Senior Technical Director at HVT and Carly Gilbert-Patrick, Team Leader at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It will be moderated by Susanna Zammataro, IRF’s Director General.
The ITF summit gathers ministers with responsibility for transport, business leaders, heads of international organisations, parliamentarians and policymakers, representatives of business associations and leading researchers for three days in Leipzig, Germany, to discuss the future of transport through the prism of a strategic topic. Summit participation has grown to over 1400 participants from more than 80 countries, and all participation is in person.