Rates of public investment for road safety in developing countries: case studies of Uganda and Pakistan.
OBJECTIVE
This paper assesses the magnitude of public investment in road safety in Uganda and Pakistan.


METHODS
The study reviewed government budgetary records on expenditure for road safety for each country, as well as World Bank estimates of bilateral and NGO assistance directed to road safety. The authors interviewed key informants in each government who would know about public or NGO activity on road safety.


RESULTS
Budgetary expenditure on road safety at all levels of government in Uganda and Pakistan is $0.09 and $0.07 per capita respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The scale of public activity in road safety in Uganda and Pakistan is extremely limited. If there are diminishing returns to scale for road safety investments, this would suggest that the potential effectiveness of properly chosen safety measures could never be higher.


CONCLUSIONS
Large reductions in morbidity and mortality are likely if investment in road safety is expanded.
Department of Family and Population Health Sciences and the Center for Injury Research and Policy, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore 21205, USA.
David
D
Bishai
Adnan A
AA
Hyder
Abdul
A
Ghaffar
Richard H
RH
Morrow
Olive
O
Kobusingye
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002017:Budgets; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003906:Developing Countries / Q000191:economics; D005380:Financing, Government / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007449:Investments / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D012449:Safety / Q000191:economics*; D014186:Transportation / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D014454:Uganda / Q000453:epidemiology