Road crashes: a modern plague on South Asia's poor

South Asian nations are at the crossroads of economic and political progress but still face severe problems of under-development. Available data illustrates that while some macroeconomic indicators have improved over the years, disparities between rich and poor have increased manifold. Although infectious diseases remain a formidable enemy, noncommunicable diseases and injuries are increasing the health challenges facing the countries of the region. While it is widely recognized and accepted that infectious diseases predominantly affect the poor, there is insufficient evidence documenting the burden of RTI on the lower socioeconomic groups in developing countries. Low educational level, poorly paid occupations and poverty have all been found to be risk factors for road traffic injuries. This paper reviews available data from South Asia to show that RTI disproportionately affect the poor in terms of mortality, morbidity and disability, and presents a persuasive argument to policy makers about the importance of road crashes as a public health problem in South Asia. It is hoped that this will provide further visibility to the increasing burden of RTI in South Asian countries and will attract more political and financial support from the national governments and the donor community to further scale up prevention and control.