The World Health Report 2003 strategy, which emphasizes epidemiology, prevention and advocacy, is currently being imple mented with active WHO participation in a number of countries, including Cambodia, Ethio- pia, Mexico, Poland and Viet Nam. World Health Day, which is celebrated around the world on 7 April each year, will focus in 2004 on road safety and will be marked by the launch of the World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention, to be published by WHO in collaboration with the World Bank. This re- port will document comprehensively the determinants and magnitude of road traffic inju- ries and will propose science-based evidence and solutions. In May 2003, the United Nations General Assembly recognized road injuries as a global epidemic, and a special session of the United Nations General Assembly in April 2004 is planned in conjunction with World Health Day to promote road safety and encourage countries to develop national plans. UNICEF, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs, and other organizations, are also helping to raise awareness Country leaders and civil society should be encouraged to recognize the burden of deaths and injuries on their roads and to commit themselves to reducing it. National programmes to improve road safety will require not just participation of the public health and transport sectors,but also support from decision-makers in justice, law enforcement, health care, edu- cation and urban design sectors. In addition, governmental efforts will need support from governmental organizations and professional societies. A comprehensive assessment of each country's road safety system will identify the details of the current burden( who is injured or killed; where, when, and how the incident took place) the options for reducing that burden, the spectrum of players from different sectors that can be involved and trained, and the unique challenges within the country. The types of trained people needed to prevent and treat road traffic injuries will depend on the country's current capacity and its success in attracting additional resources Public health has traditionally been strong in disease surveillance: gathering and using infor- mation about the patterns, risk factors and effectiveness of interventions to prevent and miti gate a disease. Surveillance and research skills can be applied to road traffic injuries, and traditional public health assessments can be expanded to include other critical parts of the untry's systems After completing and analysing the assessment, all sectors can collaborate to develop and implement a plan to change roads, laws, vehicle designs and behaviour that ill save lives. Poor countries will need outside support to build the capacity to implement road safety measures. Injury prevention, safety and treatment Prevention, safety and treatment are the three primary aspects of a national plan to reduce road injuries. All three components need both short-term and long-term planning and sur- veillance to track progress and successes. Legislation and enforcement will be essential. The first and most important objective is to prevent a crash from happening. Some countries have already made progress in prevention by separating pedestrians from cars and trucks, creating barriers and fences, building guard-rails, widening shoulders, and eliminating" black spots"where road crashes are most likely to happen. Additional successful efforts include peed control measures such as installing rumble strips and speed bumps(see Box 6.4), enforcing speed limits and severe laws on drinking and driving(32) Second, in the event of a crash, injuries can be minimized if drivers have taken safety pre ons such as wearing helmets and seat belts. Crash-resistant vehicles can be built or98 The World Health Report 2003 strategy, which emphasizes epidemiology, prevention and advocacy, is currently being imple￾mented with active WHO participation in a number of countries, including Cambodia, Ethio￾pia, Mexico, Poland and Viet Nam. World Health Day, which is celebrated around the world on 7 April each year, will focus in 2004 on road safety and will be marked by the launch of the World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention, to be published by WHO in collaboration with the World Bank. This re￾port will document comprehensively the determinants and magnitude of road traffic inju￾ries and will propose science-based evidence and solutions. In May 2003, the United Nations General Assembly recognized road injuries as a global epidemic, and a special session of the United Nations General Assembly in April 2004 is planned in conjunction with World Health Day to promote road safety and encourage countries to develop national plans. UNICEF, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs, and other organizations, are also helping to raise awareness. Country leaders and civil society should be encouraged to recognize the burden of deaths and injuries on their roads and to commit themselves to reducing it. National programmes to improve road safety will require not just participation of the public health and transport sectors, but also support from decision-makers in justice, law enforcement, health care, edu￾cation and urban design sectors. In addition, governmental efforts will need support from nongovernmental organizations and professional societies. A comprehensive assessment of each country’s road safety system will identify the details of the current burden (who is injured or killed; where, when, and how the incident took place), the options for reducing that burden, the spectrum of players from different sectors that can be involved and trained, and the unique challenges within the country. The types of trained people needed to prevent and treat road traffic injuries will depend on the country’s current capacity and its success in attracting additional resources. Public health has traditionally been strong in disease surveillance: gathering and using infor￾mation about the patterns, risk factors and effectiveness of interventions to prevent and miti￾gate a disease. Surveillance and research skills can be applied to road traffic injuries, and traditional public health assessments can be expanded to include other critical parts of the country’s systems. After completing and analysing the assessment, all sectors can collaborate to develop and implement a plan to change roads, laws, vehicle designs and behaviour that will save lives. Poor countries will need outside support to build the capacity to implement road safety measures. Injury prevention, safety and treatment Prevention, safety and treatment are the three primary aspects of a national plan to reduce road injuries. All three components need both short-term and long-term planning and sur￾veillance to track progress and successes. Legislation and enforcement will be essential. The first and most important objective is to prevent a crash from happening. Some countries have already made progress in prevention by separating pedestrians from cars and trucks, creating barriers and fences, building guard-rails, widening shoulders, and eliminating “black spots” where road crashes are most likely to happen. Additional successful efforts include speed control measures such as installing rumble strips and speed bumps (see Box 6.4), enforcing speed limits and severe laws on drinking and driving (32). Second, in the event of a crash, injuries can be minimized if drivers have taken safety precau￾tions such as wearing helmets and seat belts. Crash-resistant vehicles can be built or