Brazzaville, 6 April 2004 -- The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Ebrahim Samba, has appealed to Member States to institute concrete measures aimed at reducing road traffic injuries.

In a message to mark World Health Day to be observed worldwide on 7 April, Dr Samba stated that countries in the Region should allocate adequate financial and human resources to address the problem of road traffic accidents. He also called on them to prepare national road safety strategies and action plans which should include specific interventions such as speed controls, the control of alcohol use by road users, and the promotion of the use of helmets and seat belts.

He added: "We would like to support member states to implement effective interventions. We suggest that governments identify a single agency to lead the national road traffic safety effort. This agency needs to be able to make decisions, control resources, and coordinate different government sectors such as health, transport, education and police. The agency must be accountable!"

The theme for the observance of the Day this year is "Road Safety is no accident"

Dr Samba stated that instituting preventive measures had become necessary because road traffic accidents result in the death of between 800,000 and 1.1 million people worldwide every year. Another 20 to 50 million people sustain injuries, many of them serious, and some resulting in disabilities.

The Regional Director also touched on the "enormous impact on families" of road crashes, which, he said, cost African governments between 1% and 3% of their gross domestic product annually. He illustrated losses due to road traffic accidents with Kenya which, in 1996, lost between 26% and 52% of its total transport earnings to road traffic crashes.

"This picture is repeated all over Africa with little variation", he said, adding that the situation was brought about by poor or absence of road safety policies, poor road infrastructure, old and poorly maintained vehicles, alcohol use by road users and the non-use of helmets and seat belts

Globally, the total annual cost of road traffic crashes is estimated at US$65 billion, about twice the annual development aid receipts by low- and middle-income countries.

The commemoration of this year's World Health Day in the African Region will feature the regional launch in Nairobi, Kenya, of the World Report on Road traffic Injury Prevention, jointly produced by WHO and the World Bank.

The report is the first evidence-based study to be issued from a health perspective on road traffic injuries which is a huge and growing public health and development problem in the African Region.

The approach recommended includes defining the burden of road traffic injuries, understanding the factors that increase risk and vulnerability, designing interventions, testing interventions for effectiveness, and, finally, widely implementing interventions.

For further information: