Date: 2007-03-22
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Washington -- The United Nations will observe the first Global Road Safety Week April 23-29 in an attempt to raise awareness about the societal impact of road traffic deaths and injuries, and to promote injury prevention measures such as wearing helmets, using seatbelts, preventing drunk driving and speeding, and improving infrastructure.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Washington -- The United Nations will observe the first Global Road Safety Week April 23-29 in an attempt to raise awareness about the societal impact of road traffic deaths and injuries, and to promote injury prevention measures such as wearing helmets, using seatbelts, preventing drunk driving and speeding, and improving infrastructure.
The event will focus on “young road users,” because young people constitute a major group at risk of death, injury and disability on the road.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than a million people are killed each year worldwide and another 20 million to 50 million injured or disabled in road accidents. About 85 percent of the deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Many of the victims are pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and users of public transportation.
Traffic fatalities per capita are highest in Africa, according to a report issued by the WHO and the World Bank. The mortality rate in Africa due to road traffic injuries was 28.3 per 100,000 people, according to the study, the most recent available, which was released in 2002. In contrast, the mortality rate due to traffic accidents reported for the United States was 15.2 per 100,000.
The World Bank estimates that road crashes cost Africa $3.7 billion annually. The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) estimates the losses to be even higher -- $10 billion, or 2 percent of gross national product (GNP). According to the ECA, road crashes in Africa are the second leading cause of death in the 5 to 44 age group.
AFRICA ACTING TO MITIGATE THREAT
African nations, recognizing the growing threat road fatalities pose to their societies, have pledged to reduce accident fatalities by half by the year 2015.
Meeting in Accra, Ghana, February 5-7, ministers representing 37 African countries agreed to work together to stop the growing epidemic of death and injuries on roads. In a declaration issued at the end of their meeting, they reaffirmed road safety as priority issue for development.
In recommendations stemming from the meeting in Accra, the African ministers resolved to “make the necessary effort to improve road safety management on the continent” and “encourage African countries to enforce road safety legislation.” They also committed to educate the general public on road safety.
U.S. EXTENDING BILATERAL, MULTILATERAL SUPPORT
The U.S. government is working with its bilateral and multilateral partners, governments, industry groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) worldwide to raise awareness about road safety. It also is engaging with partners in the private and public sectors to promote education and infrastructure development to increase road safety for drivers and pedestrians alike.
Along with other Group of Eight (G8) countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and Russia), the United States is working with African nations to improve their infrastructure -- and that includes building or improving roads.
In Sudan, for example, the United States has helped fund Norwegian People's Aid (NPA), an international NGO that is working to clear mines and unexploded ordnance from the roads in southern Sudan. The United States also is working with international organizations to ensure the safe travel and transport of goods on the road from Yei to Juba, the capital of southern Sudan.
It is expected that approximately 180 kilometers of the Juba-Mundri-Marida road soon will be open for use, which especially will benefit agricultural and residential areas in the town of Lui in southern Sudan. These efforts are not only making safe the restoration of the vital road network of southern Sudan, but also are reducing casualties among refugees and internally displaced persons returning home. The efforts also lower transportation costs by eliminating the need to deliver vital goods, including medicines, by aircraft.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has produced a road safety plan for East and Central Africa that focuses on community participation in promoting road safety, along with educational brochures on road safety published in French and English.
USAID’s road safety guide has been well received by Kenya’s Transporters Association (KTA), which is exploring the possibility of a road safety campaign that would involve government and community groups. USAID also has aided in assessing infrastructure and facilities along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway.
The G8 agreed in 2005 to increase official development assistance to Africa substantially by the year 2010. About $1.2 billion was earmarked for roads, with a safety component of $20 million.
As part of promoting road safety for all, the United States also provides safety tips and training for its employees, and, through its consular information program, provides information on road safety conditions and risks to Americans traveling and residing abroad.
A WHO fact sheet (PDF, 375KB) on traffic injuries and information on the African Road Safety Conference can be found on the organization's Web site.
Additional information on the Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program and road safety is available on the World Bank's Web site.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
By Jane Morse
USINFO Staff Writer