Advocacy & Policy Influence

Vision Zero, adopted by Sweden's Parliament in 1997, fundamentally shifted road safety philosophy from blaming individual users to designing systems that accommodate human error. The ethical principle holds that "life and health can never be exchanged for other benefits." Implementation includes 2+1 roads with central barriers, roundabouts replacing intersections, 30 km/h urban speed limits, and vehicle safety investments. Since adoption, Swedish traffic fatalities have more than halved despite increased traffic. The approach influenced policies globally, including New York City's Vision Zero and the OECD Safe System Approach.

BIGRS is a $240 million initiative (2020-2025) implementing evidence-based road safety interventions across 15 countries accounting for 60% of global road deaths, including India, Vietnam, Brazil, Mexico, and Nigeria. The program works at national and city levels (30 cities including Mumbai, New Delhi, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City) to strengthen road safety laws, train police in enforcement best practices, redesign high-crash corridors, and raise consumer awareness of vehicle safety. Since 2007, BIGRS is estimated to have saved 312,000 lives and prevented 11.5 million injuries, with 75% of impact attributed to stronger legislation.

The United Nations Environment Programme partnered with Nigeria's National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) to establish a sustainable e-waste recycling model addressing Nigeria's significant e-waste challenge - approximately 71,000 tonnes imported annually, often disguised as donations. The partnership developed the National Environmental (Battery Control) Regulations 2024, implementing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) making manufacturers responsible for product recycling. Producers now contribute to public information campaigns, training programs, and collection systems. The model addresses the informal sector where workers engage in hazardous practices without protective equipment.

USAID's Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) programs support democratic openings, counter corruption, and promote evidence-based development in countries including Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Nepal, Moldova, and Honduras. The program uses social and behavior change approaches to address corruption, focusing on understanding motivations and leveraging interventions that influence norms. Media literacy initiatives help citizens navigate disinformation. Progress is tracked through the V-Dem liberal democracy index and World Justice Program Rule of Law Index. The DRG Policy addresses emerging threats like digital authoritarianism and sophisticated corruption networks.

The Global Fund invests in behavior change communication as part of comprehensive HIV, TB, and malaria programs. Supports national campaigns for prevention, testing, and treatment adherence across more than 100 countries, with particular focus on key populations and vulnerable groups.

Interpeace works with local partners to design and implement inclusive peacebuilding processes. Their approach combines research, dialogue facilitation, and media to help societies build lasting peace. Active in Central America, Africa, Middle East, and Asia with a focus on addressing root causes of conflict through sustained community engagement.

The Partnership for Action on Challenges relating to E-waste (PACE II) operates under the Basel Convention to promote environmentally sound management of e-waste globally. Building on earlier Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative and PACE programs, PACE II conducts awareness-raising activities through 14 Regional Centres across Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Activities include webinars, workshops, publications, and training for customs officials. The 2022 amendments expanded control of transboundary e-waste movements through Prior Informed Consent procedures, empowering developing countries to decide whether to accept e-waste imports. PACE II promotes circular economy approaches for electronics.

The World Health Organization Initiative on E-Waste and Child Health supports pilot projects in Latin America and Africa to protect children's health from hazardous exposures in informal e-waste recycling. The initiative raises awareness about health effects of e-waste on children and pregnant women, who are particularly vulnerable to toxic substances like lead, mercury, and cadmium released during informal recycling practices such as open burning and acid leaching. The program works to build capacity for policymakers to enforce legislation, promote safe disposal practices, and develop healthcare protocols for treating e-waste-related health conditions in affected communities.

A multi-country initiative to improve infant and young child feeding practices through strategic behavior change communication. Uses mass media, community-based counseling, and policy advocacy to promote exclusive breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding in Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and other countries.

An annual USD 100,000 award recognizing outstanding initiatives advancing girls' and women's education globally. Past laureates include CAMFED, Room to Read, Girl Child Network Kenya, and programs from 25+ countries demonstrating scalable models for gender equity in education.

UNDP's flagship research and programming initiative understanding why young Africans join violent extremist groups. The 'Journey to Extremism' study interviewed 718 former voluntary recruits across Africa, revealing that 71% cited a government action (often killing or arrest of family member) as the tipping point for joining. This evidence informs UNDP's prevention work in 40+ countries, addressing 'push factors' (poverty, marginalization, governance failures) and 'pull factors' (belonging, purpose, financial incentives) through development interventions.

UN Office of Counter-Terrorism's flagship youth program in Southeast Asia and East Africa building young people's capacity to participate in P/CVE policymaking. Includes three components: training young religious leaders in interfaith dialogue (Empowering Dialogue and Interfaith Networks - EDIN); equipping young media makers with strategic communication skills for online counternarratives (Young Leaders for Online PCVE); and supporting youth participation in national and regional P/CVE action plans.

One of the world's largest conditional cash transfer programs for girls' education, covering 2+ million girls annually across 460 rural districts since 1994. Girls receive monthly stipends and tuition waivers conditional on 75% attendance, remaining unmarried until 18, and passing exams. Rigorous evaluations show 8% increased enrollment per additional year of program exposure, delayed marriage, and positive spillover effects on younger siblings' education. The model has influenced girls' education policy across South Asia and Africa.

A global partnership with UNICEF, Gates Foundation, and UNESCO launched in 2020 to reduce 'learning poverty' (children unable to read by age 10). The program supports countries to set learning targets, develop costed investment plans, and strengthen implementation capacity. Initial cohort included Brazil (Ceará), Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria (Edo State), Pakistan, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. Accelerator 2.0 expanded to Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, and Ghana. Features include teacher coaching programs, education technology partnerships, and national learning assessments.

The Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program developed the African Road Safety Leadership Program to build capacities among multi-sectoral agencies managing road safety. Africa has the highest road fatality rate globally (26.6 per 100,000 people, ~650 deaths daily), with 39% among pedestrians. The program increases awareness of the Safe System approach, develops leadership capabilities for road safety management, and creates networks for sharing best practices. It supports the African Road Safety Observatory (ARSO) for data collection and contributed to initiatives like Ghana's "Walk Safely" Pilot Project promoting risk awareness.