Welcome Said Dahdah, new Head of GRSF

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Said Dahdah as the new Head of the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) and Global Lead for Road Safety at the World Bank. Recognized as an international road safety expert, Said brings to this position more than 15 years of development experience, including policy dialogue, program development, and portfolio management in the transport sector.

In this role he will lead the Bank’s efforts to scale up road safety investments, operationalize good practices in Bank operations, as well as the delivery of innovative road safety solutions through grant funded research, technical assistance, and knowledge exchange that will inform country-level engagements.

Said joined the World Bank in 2006 as a Road Safety Specialist at GRSF. He has since held several positions in the transport sector, including two field assignments in Islamabad and Riyadh offices; his most recent assignment being Senior Urban Transport Specialist in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region. Throughout his career, Said has led key transport and road safety investment and advisory projects in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, Egypt, and Morocco, and has provided cross-support to regional transport teams in China, Vietnam, Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Serbia, and Colombia. Additionally, he has coordinated significant infrastructure safety projects for GRSF, and has contributed to various training and capacity building initiatives.

Said’s recent road safety achievements include the formulation of the Road Safety Requirements in Bank-financed Transport Projects (adopted by the Management Team in June 2020);  the development of the Road Safety Screening and Appraisal Tool (RSSAT) that is now being mandated for use across all transport projects; the implementation of the International Road Assessment Program in various World Bank projects; the development of the Road Safety Good Practice Note for ESS4; chairing the Road Safety Working Group of the South East Europe Transport Observatory; and his vital road safety engagement with several South Asian countries.

Said holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Transportation Safety from the George Washington University.

Please join us in welcoming Said to his new role!

Let me also take this opportunity to thank Radoslaw Czapski for his excellent work as Acting Head of GRSF during the transition.