Road Safety and Injury Prevention Program
Working with orthopaedists, NCD physicians, victims' families and survivors, the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Orthopaedic Society build the evidence and advocate for a road safety law based on the Safe System Approach.
Implemented jointly by the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Orthopaedic Society, supported by the Global Road Safety Partnership hosted by IFRC, since 2022.
01About the program
Worldwide, approximately 1.19 million people die each year in road crashes. Road traffic injury is the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5–29 years and the 12th leading cause of death across all ages. Nine in ten road deaths (92%) occur in low- and middle-income countries, and a further 20–50 million people suffer non-fatal injuries every year, many resulting in lifelong disability.
Bangladesh carries a heavy share of this burden. WHO estimated 31,578 road crash deaths in the country in 2021, with the fatality rate rising from 15.3 per 100,000 population in 2016 to 18.6 in 2021. Road crashes are among the leading causes of death and injury in Bangladesh and impose a major burden on the health system and the economy. WHO recognises road crashes as a preventable, non-communicable public health problem.
Bangladesh has the Road Transport Act 2018 and the Road Transport Rules 2022, but both focus on the transport system and give inadequate attention to safety: speed management, road infrastructure, standard helmet use, seatbelt use for all occupants, drink- and drug-driving, and child restraints. Vulnerable road users, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, remain largely unprotected.
Building on the Bangladesh Network for NCD Control and Prevention (BNNCP), formed in 2015 on the initiative of National Professor Brig. (Retd.) Abdul Malik, the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh (NHFB) and the Bangladesh Orthopaedic Society (BOS) have jointly implemented the Road Safety and Injury Prevention Program since 2022, supported by the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) hosted by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Using the Safe System Approach, countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands and Switzerland have sharply reduced road deaths and injuries. Bangladesh needs a dedicated road safety law built on the same principles.
02What we do
The program connects the clinicians who treat crash victims with the people who write the rules of the road.
We advocate with the Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD), BRTA, DTCA, RHD, DNCC, DSCC and LGD, and with transport owner and worker associations and journalists, for evidence-based policies grounded in the Safe System Approach and for a dedicated Road Safety Act.
NHFB conducted the study 'Estimating Hospital Burden of Road Traffic Injuries in Bangladesh' to build local evidence, and produces policy briefs, case studies and data explainers that inform decision-makers.
We bring together orthopaedists, NCD physicians, victims' families and survivors, and work through the Road Safety Coalition Bangladesh so that health voices are heard in the road safety debate.
Through the NHF-BOS Road Safety Advocacy Program Facebook page, motion graphics, campaign creatives and television talk shows, we raise awareness among the public and policymakers.
03The law Bangladesh needs
The Road Transport Act 2018 and Road Transport Rules 2022 regulate the transport system but leave the proven, life-saving safety measures largely unaddressed. Countries that adopted the Safe System Approach, such as Sweden, the Netherlands and Switzerland, have cut deaths and serious injuries dramatically.
Together with the Road Safety Coalition Bangladesh, we advocate for a dedicated Road Safety Act that puts vulnerable road users first. This is what it must cover.
04Commitments we track
At the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in February 2025, the Government of Bangladesh made time-bound commitments. Our advocacy holds these dates in view.
A centralised, data-based system for collecting, storing and analysing road crash information.
Guidelines to ensure effective implementation of the 2024 Motor Vehicle Speed Limit Directive.
Implementation and enforcement guidelines to promote the use of standard helmets.
Bangladesh's first Road Safety Act, finalised and approved following the Safe System Approach.
A 50% reduction in road crash fatalities under the National Road Safety Strategic Action Plan, in line with SDG 3.6 and 11.2.
05Activities and updates
Press conferences, ministerial meetings, coalition work and global conferences, documented month by month. Newest first.
Ahead of the 13th National Parliamentary Election, the Road Safety Coalition Bangladesh called on political parties to include a firm commitment to enacting and effectively implementing a Road Safety Law in their manifestos. Coalition representatives expressed hope that parties would prioritise preventing road deaths and ensuring safer roads.
Dhaka Reporters Unity, Dhaka23 media outlets: 19 print and online, 4 television
The meeting reviewed the state of road safety in Bangladesh, future priorities, the Bangladesh Road Safety Project, progress on drafting the law and the Marrakech declaration. Senior Secretary Md. Ehsanul Haque attended as chief guest and RTHD Secretary Dr. Mohammad Ziaul Haque chaired. NHFB's road safety team took part alongside DMP, Highway Police, Road Safety Coalition members, BRTA, RHD and RTHD.
Ministry of Public Administration, Dhaka
NHFB and BRTA hosted a consultative workshop at the BRTA head office to review the draft road safety law with RTHD, DTCA, RHD, Bangladesh Police, BRTC, DNCC, DSCC, the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, BRAC, DAM and the Road Safety Foundation. Presided over by BRTA Chairman Abu Momtaz Saad Uddin Ahmed, the workshop built a shared understanding of the law's key provisions and how they align with institutional mandates.
BRTA head office, Dhaka
NHFB's roundtable brought together BRTA, the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, Highway Police, the NCD Control Programme, DTCA, ARI-BUET, BIGRS, NITOR, transport owners, youth organisations and the media. Youth participants noted that road crashes are now among the leading causes of death for young people and called for strict enforcement of a dedicated law. BRTA Chairman Abu Momtaz Saad Uddin Ahmed stressed that cutting casualties by 50% needs coordinated action, and Dhaka Divisional Commissioner Sharf Uddin Ahmed Choudhury warned that current laws lack post-crash response provisions.
Dhaka22 media outlets
A discussion meeting with government officials, organised by BRTA with support from NHFB on behalf of the Road Safety Coalition Bangladesh, was held in Banani, Dhaka, in memory of those killed and injured in road crashes. BRTA Chairman Abu Momtaz Saad Uddin Ahmed presided and Dhaka Divisional Commissioner Sharf Uddin Ahmed Choudhury attended as special guest. A survivor shared their experience with the participants.
BRTA, Banani, Dhaka22 media houses
Prof. Sohel Reza Choudhury, Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Research, represented NHFB at the Asia-Pacific Road Safety Conference, which opened with a Ministerial Roundtable on addressing road safety in Asia and the Pacific. He joined Senior Secretary Md. Ehsanul Hoque (RTHD), BRTA Chairman Abu Momtaz Saad Uddin Ahmed and senior officials of GRSP and GHAI.
On behalf of the Road Safety Coalition Bangladesh, NHFB and BRTA jointly organised a discussion meeting at the BRTA premises, presided over by BRTA Chairman Mohammed Yasin. Speakers stressed the urgency of speed management guidelines and comprehensive road safety legislation to protect vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.
BRTA, Dhaka
NHFB organised a talk show on Channel 24 discussing UN Global Road Safety Week 2025, road crash data systems, the Safe System Approach and why Bangladesh needs a Road Safety Act.
Channel 24
NHFB hosted a coordination meeting of the Road Safety Coalition Bangladesh, where civil society organisations planned their communication and SMART policy activities for the following six months.
NHFB, Dhaka
Abu Jafor (NHFB) and Marjana Muntaha (Ahsania Mission Youth Forum) joined the Bangladesh Government delegation, led by Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan and Dr. Mohammed Ziaul Haque of the Road Transport and Highways Division, at the 3rd World Youth Assembly and the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety (15–20 February), alongside more than 2,000 delegates from 193 countries. Bangladesh pledged to enact a Road Safety Act by 2027 and to establish a national crash data system, speed management guidelines and standard helmet guidelines by 2026.
Marrakech, Morocco
Ahead of the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, the Road Safety Coalition Bangladesh urged the interim government to commit to reducing road crashes by 50% by 2030. While the government had formed a committee to draft the Road Safety Act, the coalition called for a separate, dedicated road safety law.
Dhaka
06Publications
Evidence for decision-makers, written in Bangla for Bangladesh. Free to download, cite and share.
রোডক্র্যাশ পরিসংখ্যান ও তুলনামূলক চিত্র
Compares road crash death figures from police records, newspaper monitoring, WHO estimates and the BRTA reporting system, and explains why Bangladesh needs a reliable, centralised crash data system.
কেস স্টাডি: শিবচর রোডক্র্যাশ
Analysis of the 19 March 2023 bus crash at Kutubpur, Shibchar (Madaripur) that killed 19 people and injured 26, examined through the Safe System lens: safe roads, safe speed, safe road users, safe vehicles and post-crash response.
মোটরযান গতিসীমা সংক্রান্ত নির্দেশিকা-২০২৪ ও সড়ক নিরাপত্তা
Why lower speed limits save lives: the evidence on speed and crash severity, and how the 2024 speed limit guidelines should be implemented and enforced in Bangladesh.
রোডক্র্যাশ: প্রতিরোধযোগ্য
Explains the difference between a 'road accident' and a 'road crash', and presents international evidence that crashes are predictable and preventable through the Safe System Approach.
সেফ সিস্টেম অ্যাপ্রোচ
Core principles of the Safe System Approach, its origins in the Netherlands and Sweden, and the steps needed to apply it in Bangladesh.
ওয়ার্ল্ড ডে অব রিমেমব্রেন্স ফর রোড ট্রাফিক ভিকটিমস
Background and purpose of the day observed on the third Sunday of November, recognised by the UN General Assembly in 2005, and its link to the Decade of Action target of halving road deaths by 2030.
07Victims' and survivors' voice
A first-hand account from a family affected by a road crash in Bangladesh, recorded as part of the program's work to bring the voices of victims' families and survivors into policy advocacy.
Every statistic on this page is somebody's family. The program engages victims' families and survivors directly in policy advocacy, so that their experience is heard by the ministries and agencies that can prevent the next crash.
08Films and motion graphics
Animated explainers and campaign clips produced for the NHF-BOS Road Safety Advocacy Program. Choose a film from the list; the next one follows automatically.
Calling on the newly elected government to fulfil its road safety commitments: enact a Road Safety Act and implement crash prevention strategies.
09Awareness creatives
Published on the NHF-BOS Road Safety Advocacy Program page for global observance days, festival travel seasons and everyday safe behaviour.
Filter by theme, open any creative for a larger view, download or share it.
10Partners
Clinical societies, a national NCD network, civil society and a global road safety partnership behind one program.
Follow the campaign
NHFB runs this Facebook page to keep the public and policymakers informed about road safety in Bangladesh: campaign creatives, event updates and the case for a road safety law.
Sources for the figures on this page
Global deaths, the 5–29 age group, the share of deaths in low- and middle-income countries, and Bangladesh's estimated deaths and death rates.
The target of halving road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030 and the Safe System Approach.
Halving road traffic deaths and injuries, and safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport for all.
Pledges on a Road Safety Act by 2027 and a crash data system, speed management and helmet guidelines by 2026, as reported by the program team.
