When we say “global health,” what comes to mind? Ebola? Malaria? How about... road safety? Believe it or not, road traffic injuries are a leading cause of preventable death, killing over 1.2 million people each year. In fact, ninety percent of road traffic deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries—even though these countries account for only half of the world’s registered vehicles. The victims are disproportionately young. This is still the unfortunate status quo, despite knowing, as a global community, what solutions are cost-effective and save lives.
“We are here to close the ‘know-do’ gap,” said Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Dean Michelle Williams, acknowledging the chasm between road safety evidence and implementation in her opening remarks at the Harvard Global Health Institute symposium, “Road Safety for All: Innovations in Road Traffic Injury Prevention and Response.” The symposium was co-sponsored by the Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute and the SaveLIFE Foundation.
Panelists throughout the symposium underscored the social and economic toll of inaction. Keynote speaker Piyush Tewari, CEO of the SaveLIFE Foundation, focused on the organization’s efforts to pass a “Good Samaritan” law in India protecting bystanders who assisted people injured in crashes. Tewari discovered that many crash survivors languished and died at the side of the road because bystanders feared potential police or legal harassment as a consequence of their help. Other speakers highlighted novel prevention and trauma response efforts within communities, at hospitals, and across health systems.
The Incubator includes a wide range of resources on road safety in its online repository. Inspired by the symposium, the Incubator is also developing additional teaching resources for educators wishing to explore the intersection of road safety, urban planning, governance, and public health in their classrooms.