The Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit Participates in Bloomberg Road Safety Initiative Kickoff Meetings

Recently, the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit (JH-IIRU) joined Bloomberg Philanthropies and seven other partners to launch the Bloomberg Initiative on Global Road Safety, a five-year, $125 million effort to reduce injuries and fatalities caused by road traffic accidents. 

In March, kickoff meetings began in each of the 10 selected cities, beginning with Mumbai, India, on March 17 in which JH-IIRU team members, assistant scientist Shivam Gupta and research program coordinator Shirin Wadhwaniya, attended. In addition to the first kickoff meeting in India, other meetings that have already taken place include Bangkok, Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  Upcoming meetings in April will be Fortaleza and Sao Palo, Brazil and Bogota, Columbia. JH-IIRU assistant scientist, Katharine Allen and director, Adnan Hyder, will attend.

The kick-off meetings are opportunities to bring initiative partners together, which, along with JH-IIRU include EMBARQ; the Global New Car Assessment Program (Global NCAP); the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP); the National Association of City Transport Officials (NACTO); the Union North America (UNA); the World Bank-led Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF); and the World Health Organization (WHO) with city focal points to meet and discuss a shared implementation strategy. The meetings are also a way for cities to more fully articulate their proposals and for partner to provide further clarity on their roles as well.  

JH-IIRU will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the activities in the 10 selected cities. We will also develop and conduct training programs in road traffic injury prevention for public health professionals in these countries.