Harvard Global Health Institute partners India's SaveLife Foundation to curb global road crash epidemic

The Harvard Global Health Institute is partnering with SaveLIFE Foundation, the leading non-profit organisation in India that is focused on improving road safety and access to trauma care across the globe. The partnership will help address the worldwide health challenge posed by the increasing number of road crashes.

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.

The partnership aims to collaborate and promote the exchange of ideas and people to foster joint research on sustainable solutions for improving road safety across countries.  It will also facilitate placement of undergraduate and graduate students from Harvard University at SaveLIFE and other organisations involved in working to reduce road traffic injuries. 

The partnership will organise joint workshops and deliberations around the subject of improving road safety, including joint research publications and academic curricula. The first such collaborative event, on April 30^th, in partnership with the Harvard South Asia Institute, featured experts from around the world.

According to Dr Ashish Jha, Director of Harvard Global Health Institute, “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.”

“SaveLIFE Foundation is 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 Piyush Tewari, founder and CEO of SaveLIFE Foundation.

Read more: 1,317 accidents and 413 deaths on Indian roads each day in 2016