Putting The Brakes On Global Road Crash Deaths: One Foundation’s Efforts

As the United Nations (UN) meets this week to formally adopt the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it will set the stage for dealing with a worldwide scourge—road crashes and the growing rates of traffic deaths and injuries. Road crashes kill more than 1.2 million people a year worldwide and injure more than 50 million, with deaths disproportionately taking place in low- to middle-income countries. It’s about time; this public health crisis goes largely unrecognized. If no action is taken, it will become the seventh leading cause of death globally by 2030. The UN’s plan for dealing with this epidemic is part of SDG Goal 3 and SDG Goal 11, which ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, at all ages, and also promote safe, affordable, and sustainable transport systems for all. What’s surprising about this common urban challenge is that it is widely ignored and not even considered a health problem. The UN is aiming to cut in half the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020. When you think of addressing the leading causes of death, you don’t often equate road safety with public health. However, the numbers are simply shocking enough that the UN—working with several groups including the World Health Organization—has been developing several high-level campaigns to take on this crisis, including Global Road Safety Week and the Decade of Action for Road Safety, both adopted in 2010. Local governments and our partner gr...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Global Health GrantWatch Public Health Consumers Health Philanthropy Nonmedical Determinants Prevention United Nations Source Type: blogs