Prime
Road traffic deaths rise by 17 per cent in Africa – WHO
Residents of Buloba look at the wreckage of one of the taxis involved in an accident that killed five on the spot on April 1. Medics attribute the rising number of surgeries at Mulago hospital to such accidents. PHOTO/MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
What you need to know:
- The WHO said the rise in deaths in the African region has been linked to “inadequate road safety laws and standards.”
The World Health Organisation has said there has been a surge in road traffic deaths in the African region over the past decade, with nearly 250,000 lives lost on the continent’s roads in 2021.
“This marks a 17 per cent increase in road-related fatalities between 2010 and 2021,” the global health agency revealed on Monday ahead of the official release of the road safety report for the Africa region in Nairobi on July 16.
“Despite comprising only 15 per cent of the world’s population and 3 per cent of its vehicles, the region accounts for nearly one-fifth of all road deaths globally,” the WHO added.
However, the global health agency also noted that global road traffic death rates have decreased by 5 per cent over the same period, indicating that other countries in the world have managed to reduce preventable deaths.
The WHO said the rise in deaths in the African region has been linked to “inadequate road safety laws and standards.”
“Notably, no country in the African region currently meets best practice standards for key road safety behavioural risk factors, such as speeding, drink driving, non-use of motorcycle helmets, seatbelts, and child restraints,” the WHO added.
In Uganda, recent annual crime reports from Police also indicate that there has been an increase in cases of road traffic deaths. Police indicated in the annual crime report for 2022 that close to 4000 people died from 20,394 road crashes that happened that year.
“The number of fatal crashes increased by 17 percent from 3,757 in 2021 to 3,901 in 2022. The number of serious crashes increased from 9,070 in 2021 to 10,776 in 2022,” the report reads.
Overall, Police noted, there was a 17 percent increase in the total number of crashes reported in 2022 from 17,443 crashes in 2021 to 20,394 crashes in 2022.
SP Michael Kananura, the spokesperson for the directorate of traffic and road safety at Uganda Police Force (UPF) told this reporter earlier: “If you look at the causes of these accidents, it remains purely reckless driving -particularly speeding and improper overtaking.”
