School Researcher Participated in United Nations Road Traffic Safety Roundtable (web article)

UN/DPI Photo by Sophie Paris

Adnan A. Hyder, MD, MPH, PhD, a road traffic safety expert from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, participated in a roundtable discussion April 15 at the United Nations (UN) Stakeholder Forum in New York, NY. The forum, entitled “Global Road Safety - A Shared Responsibility,” examined the increasing burden of road traffic injuries worldwide. Traffic accidents kill more than one million people each year, injure tens of millions more and cost developing countries twice as much as they receive in international aid.

“This forum is a well received follow-up to World Health Day 2004, which was held April 7 and addressed road traffic safety. The World Health Organization has created a long-term plan to combat road traffic injuries because, as governments are starting to realize, road crashes are not 'accidents' or simply infrequent coincidences. The injuries and deaths are predictable and preventable,” said Dr. Hyder, an assistant professor and the Leon Robertson Faculty Development Chair in the School’s Department of International Health.

Dr. Hyder stressed to the forum that research is critical to the fight against road traffic injuries around the world and that low- and middle-income countries cannot afford not to study the causes and solutions for preventing and controlling road traffic injuries. In addition, he communicated that it is critical for efforts in the developing world to immediately focus on intervention testing and implementation.

“Capacity development for road safety, and especially research, is very important for developing countries. They need trained and professional human power to undertake the challenge of road traffic injury,” said Dr. Hyder.

Also a member of the School’s Center for Injury Research and Policy, Dr. Hyder participated in the roundtable discussion with other international road traffic experts. The forum was a follow-up event to a briefing held May 29, 2003, and hosted by Ambassador Fuad Al-Hinai of Oman at the UN. Dr. Hyder made a presentation at the earlier gathering.

“Road traffic injuries have only just recently started receiving the attention they deserve by governments around the world,” said Dr. Hyder, “I hope to see this trend continue until these injuries and deaths are wiped out.” -- Kenna L. Brigham