Salim and Salimah, Safe and Sound - Oman's road safety initiative
An Omani non-profit research company, Al Mustadaama (Sustainability) LLC, has launched a new website, Salim and Salimah, Safe and Sound, dedicated to bringing awareness of the devastation to families and society caused by death and serious injury in road traffic accidents in the country.
In the first one and a half months of this year alone, 85 people have died and 806 have been injured in a total of 1007 car crashes on Oman's roads. By the end of 2005, Oman’s road traffic mortality was 28 per 100,000 population, far in excess of the global average of 19 per 100,000. More than one third of those who died in 2004, were under the age of 25.
Most of the others who died were men up to the age of 50, who were the breadwinners for the family.
The emotional trauma and financial cost of road traffic deaths and injuries can impact severely on society, when children and young people are left unsupported and disabled for life.
The World Health Organisation predicts that, worldwide, death due to road traffic accidents could rise to be the third most common cause of death by 2020.
Oman brought a resolution before the United Nations General Assembly in October 2005 to bring attention to the problem, having launched The United Nations road safety collaboration: a handbook of partner profiles earlier in the year. WHO's traffic safety newsletter for May 2005 featured Oman's initiative.
Salim and Salimah, Safe and Sound, has been produced with funding from the US-Middle East Partnership Initiative small grant program. A featured film includes typical Omani family scenarios, highway and hospital scenes, crash dummy clips and interviews with victims of road crashes. The website urges families to ensure that all passengers use seatbelts and that children, the most vulnerable group are secured in appropriate child-seats.
The website also provides rich data on the causes of road accidents in Oman in the context of World Health Organisation surveys and concerns.
Additional support has come from The Ministry of Health, The Ministry of Sport Affairs, UNICEF Oman, WHO, Khoula Hospital (trauma hospital) and The Sultan's School, as well as various commercial sponsors, including MacDonalds, who have displayed posters of Omani boy in a booster seat under the Salim and Salimah logo, and distributed leaflets with 'drive-by' meals.
Postscript: A write-up of the campaign appeared in Arab News on 14th April 2006
In the first one and a half months of this year alone, 85 people have died and 806 have been injured in a total of 1007 car crashes on Oman's roads. By the end of 2005, Oman’s road traffic mortality was 28 per 100,000 population, far in excess of the global average of 19 per 100,000. More than one third of those who died in 2004, were under the age of 25.
Most of the others who died were men up to the age of 50, who were the breadwinners for the family.
The emotional trauma and financial cost of road traffic deaths and injuries can impact severely on society, when children and young people are left unsupported and disabled for life.
The World Health Organisation predicts that, worldwide, death due to road traffic accidents could rise to be the third most common cause of death by 2020.
Oman brought a resolution before the United Nations General Assembly in October 2005 to bring attention to the problem, having launched The United Nations road safety collaboration: a handbook of partner profiles earlier in the year. WHO's traffic safety newsletter for May 2005 featured Oman's initiative.
Salim and Salimah, Safe and Sound, has been produced with funding from the US-Middle East Partnership Initiative small grant program. A featured film includes typical Omani family scenarios, highway and hospital scenes, crash dummy clips and interviews with victims of road crashes. The website urges families to ensure that all passengers use seatbelts and that children, the most vulnerable group are secured in appropriate child-seats.
The website also provides rich data on the causes of road accidents in Oman in the context of World Health Organisation surveys and concerns.
Additional support has come from The Ministry of Health, The Ministry of Sport Affairs, UNICEF Oman, WHO, Khoula Hospital (trauma hospital) and The Sultan's School, as well as various commercial sponsors, including MacDonalds, who have displayed posters of Omani boy in a booster seat under the Salim and Salimah logo, and distributed leaflets with 'drive-by' meals.
Postscript: A write-up of the campaign appeared in Arab News on 14th April 2006
Only if you love me - the Oman-US FTA
The furore surrounding the proposed takeover of six ports in the USA by DPWorld , has rather overshadowed the prospect of ratification of Oman's free trade agreement with the US, due for congressional hearing in the not too distant future. The US Senate Finance Committee began hearing testimony on the deal on March 6th
In the meantime, American voters have been haranguing US Congressmen and Senators over the DPWorld takeover of P & O operations, including management of the six US ports, incensed at what they saw as a danger to homeland security. Polls revealed that 75% of Americans opposed the takeover of their ports by an Arab nation, even when assured that the company would have no say over security and screening at American ports. (Financial Times) Albeit that there will now be opposition to any foreign takeover, whatever the nationality, Gulf Arabs will be both angered by and disdainful of American antagonism. That translates into money. Only 6% of $13 billion of Gulf investment in mergers and acquisitions went to the US last year, according to a Credit Suisse report, (Reuters) and the proportion is likely to decline, given what will be interpreted as specific charges of anti-Arabism in Congress.
Despite some denials that it was in any way significant, talks between the UAE and the USA on a free trade agreement were postponed this week. The Khaleej Times reported Timothy Deal, senior vice-president of the US Council for International Business in Washington, as saying, "Because of what happened, it makes the timing for trade talks too difficult for both nations."
Egypt's free trade agreement talks have also been put off. In February, Al Ahram Weekly interviewed Francis Ricciardone, US Ambassador to Egypt, about the issue. Mr Ricciardone was diplomacy itself, saying that "The US has long been interested in concluding an FTA with Egypt. The US just wants to start negotiations on this FTA when the right time comes." Al Ahram put it to the ambassador, "The last two weeks saw the exclusion of Egypt from any negotiations on this matter while the US moved towards concluding negotiations with other Arab countries, most recently Oman, which is why it seems political conditions are playing a role..." to which the ambassador replied warily that negative headlines about the exercise of democracy in Egypt had obscured the larger reality that he experienced daily.
In the meantime, American voters have been haranguing US Congressmen and Senators over the DPWorld takeover of P & O operations, including management of the six US ports, incensed at what they saw as a danger to homeland security. Polls revealed that 75% of Americans opposed the takeover of their ports by an Arab nation, even when assured that the company would have no say over security and screening at American ports. (Financial Times) Albeit that there will now be opposition to any foreign takeover, whatever the nationality, Gulf Arabs will be both angered by and disdainful of American antagonism. That translates into money. Only 6% of $13 billion of Gulf investment in mergers and acquisitions went to the US last year, according to a Credit Suisse report, (Reuters) and the proportion is likely to decline, given what will be interpreted as specific charges of anti-Arabism in Congress.
Despite some denials that it was in any way significant, talks between the UAE and the USA on a free trade agreement were postponed this week. The Khaleej Times reported Timothy Deal, senior vice-president of the US Council for International Business in Washington, as saying, "Because of what happened, it makes the timing for trade talks too difficult for both nations."
Egypt's free trade agreement talks have also been put off. In February, Al Ahram Weekly interviewed Francis Ricciardone, US Ambassador to Egypt, about the issue. Mr Ricciardone was diplomacy itself, saying that "The US has long been interested in concluding an FTA with Egypt. The US just wants to start negotiations on this FTA when the right time comes." Al Ahram put it to the ambassador, "The last two weeks saw the exclusion of Egypt from any negotiations on this matter while the US moved towards concluding negotiations with other Arab countries, most recently Oman, which is why it seems political conditions are playing a role..." to which the ambassador replied warily that negative headlines about the exercise of democracy in Egypt had obscured the larger reality that he experienced daily.