Harvard, Delhi NGO to study road safety in city
NEW DELHI: The Harvard Global Health Institute in partnership with Delhi-based road safety NGO SAVELIFE Foundation will soon start a comprehensive research programme to bring down road accident deaths, improve road safety for all users and to increase access to trauma care in India.
The t wo establishments signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Monday, which aims at promoting exchange of ideas and researchers to come up with sustainable solutions to improve road safety.
“Road crashes have emerged as a significant public health threat. The partnership with SAVELIFE Foundation will enable us not only to foster interdisciplinary engagement at Harvard but also give us the opportunity to study the issue at the grass-roots level,” said Dr Ashish Jha, Director of Harvard Global Health Institute.
Data by the SAVELIFE Foundation shows that globally, road crashes kill more than 1.25 million people and cause non-fatal injuries to as many as 50 million people each year. Close to 90% of road injury fatalities are suffered in low and middle income countries, with India alone contributing 12% to the global death toll.
Piyush Tiwari, founder and CEO of SAVELIFE Foundation, said that such exchange and research with one of the most coveted university in the world will bring the loopholes in various aspects such as road design flaws, policies problems, and a system of awareness among citizens.
“We are working at the forefront of road safety, and this partnership with Harvard Global Health Institute will enable us to expand our impact in India as well as other parts of the developing world,” said Tewari.
“The exchange of researchers will also help in knowing the best practices of the cities across the globe and ways to tailor make these to fit into our road space,” the NGO said.