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WORLD HEALTH DAY
ROAD SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT!
The World Health Organization Calls for Action to Lower the Death Toll on the World's Roads
April 7, 2004
Failure to Act Now Will Result in Significant Rise in Death And Injury Due To Road Crashes
GENEVA -- The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank stress that globally road crashes are the second leading cause of death among young people aged 5 to 29 years and the third leading cause of death among people aged 30 to 44 years(1). Road crashes kill 1.2 million people every year and injure or disable between 20 million and 50 million more(2). Without immediate action to improve road safety, it is estimated that road traffic deaths will increase by 80% in low- and middle- income countries by 2020. A joint report launched by the organizations today demonstrates in no uncertain terms that "Road Safety is no Accident."
Notes: (1) See map, http://www.xfn.com/xfn/RoadTraffic.htm , and table, http://www.xfn.com/xfn/AgeGroup.htm (2) This estimate range is wide as there is significant under- reporting of non-fatal injuries.
"Thousands of people die on the world's roads every day. We are not talking about random events or 'accidents.' We are talking about road crashes whose risks can be understood and therefore can be prevented," said Dr Lee Jong-wook, Director-General, World Health Organization. "Road safety is no accident. We have the knowledge to act now. It is a question of political will," he added.
The
magnitude of this growing global public health crisis, the risk factors
that lead to road traffic deaths and injuries and effective ways to
prevent them are detailed in the World report on road traffic injury
prevention. The report provides governments and other policy-makers,
industry, nongovernmental organizations, international agencies and
individuals with concrete recommendations to improve road safety.
Human and Economic Cost
Unlike
in high-income countries where those most at risk of injury or death are
drivers and passengers in cars, the people who are most at risk of being
involved in a road traffic crash in low- and middle-income countries are
pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and users of informal modes of public
transport. The
human suffering caused by road crashes is huge -- for every victim of a
crash, there are family members, friends, and communities who must cope
with the physical, psychological and economic consequences of the death,
injury or disability of a loved one. Crash survivors and their families
must cope with the painful and often long-term consequences of injury,
disability and rehabilitation. In many cases, the cost of care, the loss
of the primary breadwinner, funeral expenses, or the loss of income due to
disability can drive a family into poverty. The
human suffering is in itself a reason to act now. The economic impact also
cannot be underestimated. In low- and middle-income countries, the cost of
road traffic injuries is estimated at US$ 65 billion, exceeding the total
amount these countries receive in development assistance. Road traffic
injuries cost countries between 1% and 2% of gross national product,
amounting to US$518 billion every year.
Action Has Made a Difference
Many countries, however, have already demonstrated that actions to improve road safety will protect people. Recent gains have been achieved in nations such as Colombia, Costa Rica, Ghana and Thailand. In past decades tens of thousands of lives have been saved in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States of America and others countries in Western Europe. This success is attributed to improving the design of vehicles and roads and focusing on legislation, enforcement and sharing of information about the use of seat-belts, helmets, and child restraints and about the dangers of speed and drink-driving.
Among the report's recommendations are the appointment of a lead agency in every country to coordinate multisectoral efforts, the preparation of national road safety strategies and plans of action with clear roles and objectives for each sector, and the implementation of proven interventions to prevent crashes and minimize injuries and their consequences. The report notes that road safety is a shared responsibility, and calls on the expertise of people across many sectors and disciplines, including public health professionals, health care providers, road and motor vehicle engineers, law enforcement officials and educators.
ROAD SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT!
World Health Day 2004 Offers a Historic Opportunity to Increase Investment in Road Safety
French President Jacques Chirac to Head Key Paris Event
For the first time in the history of the Organization, WHO has dedicated World Health Day 2004 to "Road Safety." Citizens in more than 100 countries are hosting hundreds of World Health Day events. These range from a road safety festival in Lebanon to theatre performances in public parks for children in Brazil and from a helmet fashion show in Viet Nam to the inauguration of a remembrance garden for victims in South Africa. Others events include conferences and seminars, award ceremonies, and the launch of road safety campaigns and a multi-million dollar international research programme on injury prevention.
Hosted
by WHO and the Government of France, the key global World Health Day event
takes place in Paris today as France has typified the approach WHO and the
World Bank are advocating. A combination of political will and effective
action reduced the deaths on the roads in France by 20% in 2003, saving
1,500 lives and preventing thousands of injuries. The event takes place at
the Centre de conferences internationales Kleber with the participation of
Dr Lee Jong-wook, WHO Director-General; Mr Jacques Chirac, President of
France; Ministers of Health from the Czech Republic, France, Ghana and
Nicaragua; Ministers of Transport from France, Oman, Slovakia and the
United States of America; and 300 representatives of some of the world's
leading road safety organizations such as the Association for Safe
International Road Travel (United States of America), the FIA Foundation
for the Automobile and Society (United Kingdom), the Ligue contre la
Violence Routiere (France), the Swedish National Road Administration
(Sweden) and the World Bank. This high-profile event will be the occasion
for the global release of the World report on road traffic injury
prevention. On
14 April as an immediate follow up to World Health Day, the UN General
Assembly will devote a session to discuss road safety for the very first
time in its history. "At the occasion of World Health Day 2004 WHO is ringing the alarm bell to draw attention to this global crisis. From small victim associations to the UN General Assembly, from governments to the private sector, the global response is huge. World Health Day will allow us to unite and take important additional steps towards ending the carnage on the world's roads," said Dr Etienne Krug, Director of the WHO's Department of Injuries and Violence Prevention.
For more information about World Health Day activities, visit www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/activities/en/
HEADS OF STATE AGREE THAT ROAD SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT
Prime Minister Tony Blair, United Kingdom Road
traffic injuries hit the most deprived communities the hardest. In the UK,
the poorest children are 5 times more likely to die on our roads than the
better off. And this picture is replicated around the globe. Each year
more than one million people die world wide as the result of road crashes
and collisions. And 50 million more are injured. So the scale of the
problem is hard to over estimate by 2020 road injuries could overtake HIV
and tuberculosis to rank third in the causes of premature death and
disability around the world. President George W. Bush, United States of America Today
the death toll from traffic injuries is highest in developing countries
and it continues to grown as nations become more prosperous and motorized.
In the United States, traffic accidents remain the leading cause of death
for Americans under the age of 35. President Janez Drnovsek, Republic of Slovenia (Slovenian translated into English) Each life is precious. Road accidents have destructive personal consequences on the victims, families and communities and have, as consequence, significant negative social ramifications. This is why we should spare no effort to achieve even more in the area of road safety.
President Girma Wolde Giorgis, Ethiopia
We must not accept road traffic accidents as an inevitable side effect
of development.
World health day 2004 on road safety is what our country Ethiopia needs.
The country will use this day to promote and ensure use of seat belts,
action against speeding motorists and those driving under the influence
of alcohol. President
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste President Romano Prodi, European Commission Improving
road safety worldwide is a shared responsibility, calling for a strong
commitment at all levels-political and administrative, national and
international, regional and local authorities, private companies and last
but not least individual citizens. His Majesty Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, King of Nepal As road traffic injuries remain amongst the top global causes of death, transcending all boundaries and nationalities, it is time for this issue to be addressed in a global way.
Statistics show that the highest number of road fatalities and
disabilities take place in the developing countries of Asia, where
pedestrians, motorcyclists, cyclists and public transport users are most
vulnerable. Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand END
To access the web feature on road safety, visit http://www.who.int/features/2004/road_safety/en/
Multimedia content: To download the report, visit http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/en/
To download messages from Heads of State including George Bush and Tony Blair on World Health Day, visit http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/press/multimedia/en/
To order hard copies of the report, contact http://bookorders.who.int/
Source: World Health Organization, China, via http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=2659588&access=EH
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