New Delhi: The 15th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, or “Safety 2024,” commenced on September 2, at the Taj Palace and will run until September 4.
The conference is hosted by The George Institute for Global Health along with three other WHO Collaborating Centres: the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Center at IIT Delhi, the Department of Emergency Medicine at AIIMS, and the Department of Epidemiology at NIMHANS. It is co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO).
During the inaugural ceremony Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, who was the chief guest released the WHO South-East Asia Regional Status Report on Road Safety.
She emphasized the urgent need for action on injury and violence prevention, particularly road safety. Wazed highlighted alarming rates of violence against children, bullying, and sexual violence against women, describing these issues as unacceptable.
She also noted the WHO’s commitment to improving road safety for vulnerable groups and highlighted the INSPIRE framework as a key initiative.
Paul Procee from the World Bank also addressed the conference, pointing out India’s severe road safety issues. He revealed that accidents cost India 3 to 4 percent of its GDP and stressed the need for better infrastructure and helmet use, especially for women and children on motor vehicles.
Procee praised Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka for their successful efforts in reducing accidents through coordinated and electronic measures.
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The conference, themed “Building a Safer Future for All: Equitable and Sustainable Strategies for Injury and Violence Prevention,” will continue till 4, featuring discussions on improving safety and preventing harm.
The conference hopes to:
– Have a lecture/scholarship in the name of Dinesh Mohan.
– Encourage youth participation through inclusion and involvement.
– Focus on the need for civil society engagement and involvement.
– Encourage equity by ensuring balanced gender, country, seniority, etc profiles in all committees.
– Build capacity in the region.
– Facilitate policy action for injury and violence prevention in India.
– Raise the profile of The George Institute India as a world-renowned research institute and foster strong collaborations between WHO Collaborating Centres in India, and the region, developing a network for injury prevention and safety promotion.
The conference will also feature international experts – Rebecca Stapleton, ADB, Philippines; Dipan Bose, World Bank, USA (TBC) and David Ward, Executive President, Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP). The conference is guided by the International Organising Committee chaired by Professor Adnan Hyder from George Washington University.