Low and middle income countries (LMICs) of the world are facing a major problem of road traffic injury (RTI), primarily affecting young and productive segments of society. The health, social and economic impact of this emerging epidemic is yet to be recognized. Absence of reliable quality information is one of the major problems for developing, implementing and evaluating road safety initiatives and programmes in all LMICs. The existing data from both police and health sectors has serious limitations to develop and design interventions. Consequently, response to the growing epidemic of RTIs has been ad hoc, crisis- oriented and unscientific. To give a major boost for activities in this area, the need for simple and effective information systems is being felt acutely. Strengthening existing systems with scientific and policy inputs, capacity building programs across sectors, promoting record linkage systems, increasing human and technical resources along with better applications of information in policies and programmes are immediately required. This investment by national governments and international agencies along with professional bodies will provide better direction and returns for programmes in the area of road safety in LMICs. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference see E217780.
Abstract