Bloomberg Foundation gives $9 mln to WHO to support road safety

The World Health Organization announced a USD 9 million contribution from the Bloomberg Family Foundation to support an important new effort to pilot policies and programmes to prevent the needless loss of life on the world’s roads. Demonstration projects in Mexico and Viet Nam will help significantly decrease the death, injury and disability resulting from road traffic crashes – an area of public health which has been underfunded in the past.

Road traffic crashes kill nearly 1.2 million people annually and injure up to 50 million more, with the majority of deaths and injuries occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Road traffic crashes are the leading cause of death globally for 10-to-24 year-olds. Most of these young lives are lost while walking, riding on their bicycles or motorcycles, or using public transport.

In addition to the human suffering they cause, road traffic crashes place a huge burden on national economies; their cost in low- and middle-income countries amounts to more than the annual development assistance the countries receive. Unless action is taken, the number of road traffic injuries and deaths is likely to get worse in most regions of the world as motorization increases; road traffic injuries are predicted to be the eighth leading cause of death by 2030.

The new initiative for road traffic injury prevention will provide US$ 9 million to WHO over the next two years to implement some of the practical measures that have resulted in a sharp decline in road traffic deaths and injuries in many countries. Prevention programmes will be piloted in Mexico and Viet Nam, with a focus on increasing the use of motorcycle helmets, seat-belts and child restraints; reducing drink-driving; and improving the visibility of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

Strategies used will include building capacity for law-makers and public health officials, training the police to improve enforcement of legislation and supporting nongovernmental organizations in their prevention work. There will be a focus on increasing public awareness of road traffic injuries and their prevention, as well as on providing incentives to encourage the use of protective measures, such as helmets and child restraints.