The World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized the necessity for Ghana and other African nations to adopt comprehensive policies and strategies aimed at reducing road crashes, injuries, and fatalities by 50% by 2030, in line with Target 3.6 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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The international health body noted that these policies should foster sustainable transportation systems, enhance legislative frameworks for road safety, invest in data management systems, improve post-crash response, and conduct research addressing the continent’s specific issues.

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Additionally, WHO highlighted that the policies must address a range of factors contributing to road accidents, including inadequate enforcement of traffic laws, deteriorated road conditions, speeding, drunk driving, and insufficient safety education for road users.

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This call was part of the recommendations from its 2023 road safety status report for the African region, which was presented in Nairobi, Kenya, last Tuesday.

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Findings

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The report highlighted that Africa has become a major hotspot for road traffic fatalities, placing significant pressure on the continent’s public health systems and jeopardizing progress toward SDG 3.6, which aims to cut global road traffic deaths and injuries in half by 2030.

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For example, the report showed that although Africa represents 15 percent of the world's population and has just three percent of the global vehicle fleet, it accounts for 20 percent of all road traffic deaths worldwide.

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Additionally, the report noted that road traffic death rates in Africa have risen sharply over the past decade, with nearly 250,000 fatalities occurring on the continent’s roads in 2021 alone.

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From 2010 to 2021, road crash deaths in Africa increased by 17 percent, whereas global death rates declined by five percent.

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The report also pointed out that men aged 15 to 64 years are the primary victims of road traffic accidents, with particularly vulnerable road users, such as motorcyclists, cyclists, and pedestrians, suffering the most.

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Lapses

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The report attributed the rise to multiple factors, including inadequate road safety laws and standards, indicating: “no country in the region currently has laws that meet the best practice standards for the five key road safety behavioural risk factors – speeding, drink driving, non-use of motorcycle helmets, seatbelts and child restraints.”It added that limited investments in alternative modes of transport, including cycling and walking, had fuelled road-related fatalities on the continent, with 13 per cent of countries having national strategies to promote walking or cycling.

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“These so-called multimodal transport systems have been determined to be more equitable and environmentally friendly, and safer for road users,” the report added.

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The report added that post-crash care services in the region were inadequate or unavailable in most countries – fewer than one-third have services that met recommended levels of access to pre-hospital care, emergency care, and treatment and rehabilitation services.

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The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said the findings of the report pointed to a serious public health concern for African countries, “with hundreds of thousands of lives being lost unnecessarily”.

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“As WHO, we’re committed to working hand in hand with countries to tackle this preventable threat and continue to fully support all efforts to make our roads safer for motorists and pedestrians alike,” he said.

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Action

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The WHO representative in Kenya, Abdourahmane Diallo, stated that for Africa to reduce the burden of road accidents, countries needed to revamp transport infrastructure, retrain motorists, and promote safety education targeting motorists, pedestrians and cyclists.

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