Background

As the use of motorized transport continues to accelerate globally, road traffic crashes have become an increasing cause of injury, disability and death worldwide. Each year, an estimated 1.2 million people are killed by road traffic crashes while an additional 20 to 50 million people are injured or disabled. Approximately 50% of those killed are young adults between the ages of 15 and 44, the most economically active members of society. Without effective policy interventions, this problem is projected to worsen: the World Health Organization estimates that between 1999 and 2020, road traffic injuries will rise from being the ninth leading cause of disease burden in the world to the third. This represents a major public health and socioeconomic problem, which is particularly exacerbated in low-income countries.

Most governments and public institutions in low-income countries, including African countries, are yet to recognize the magnitude of the problem. Moreover, once awareness has been raised and sufficient political will has been marshaled to improve the situation, many governments face logistic and technical constraints such as limited financial resources, insufficiently trained professionals knowledgeable about road traffic safety and lack of scientific data on the interventions that are most effective in their particular context. Thus, there is a need for increased efforts to be placed on advocacy, research and training in low-income countries.

HASAN has committed to spearhead a campaign to raise $100,000 over the next five years in support of field research, training, and advocacy work for the reduction of injuries and mortality due to road traffic crashes in sub-Saharan Africa. The Fund will be administered by the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies (HCPDS) which will review the research proposals submitted for merit and appropriateness to the Fund.