First paragraph: Everyone knows that roads are dangerous, but many people are surprised when they find out just how deadly they can be. As many as 1.4m people are killed every year – about one every 23 seconds – while another 20m to 50m are injured but survive, often with life-changing disabilities. Road traffic collisions are currently the eighth biggest killer in the world.https://theconversation.com/africas-treacherous-roads-are-no-safer-after-scores-of-initiatives-heres-a-new-grassroots-approach-11670

Duncan, Edward

Uny, Isabelle

English

First paragraph: Everyone knows that roads are dangerous, but many people are surprised when they find out just how deadly they can be. As many as 1.4m people are killed every year – about one every 23 seconds – while another 20m to 50m are injured but survive, often with life-changing disabilities. Road traffic collisions are currently the eighth biggest killer in the world

Stirling Online Research Repository (RIOXX)

5/15/2019 Africa's treacherous roads are no safer after scores of initiatives – here's a new grassroots approachhttps://theconversation.com/africas-treacherous-roads-are-no-safer-after-scores-of-initiatives-heres-a-new-grassroots-approach-116709 1/5AuthorsEdward DuncanAssociate Professor of Applied HealthResearch, University of StirlingIsabelle UnyResearcher, Institute for Social Marketing ,University of StirlingAcademic rigour, journalistic flairAfrica’s treacherous roads are no safer after scores ofinitiatives – here’s a new grassroots approachMay 10, 2019 2.29pm BSTEveryone knows that roads are dangerous, but many people are surprised when they find out just howdeadly they can be. As many as 1.4m people are killed every year – about one every 23 seconds – whileanother 20m to 50m are injured but survive, often with life-changing disabilities. Road trafficcollisions are currently the eighth biggest killer in the world.The vast majority of deaths from these collisions happen in low and middle income countries, such asthose in sub-Saharan Africa. They affect productivity, family life and well-being in countries wherepeople are already struggling to survive. Even more startling, these countries have among the lowestratios of vehicles per person in the world. The impact of road traffic injuries in sub-Saharan Africa isA charity, we share knowledge – with no ads, corporatebacking or paywall. Please donate now.Donate nowRoad deaths are 8th biggest killer worldwide. Fredy Thuerig5/15/2019 Africa's treacherous roads are no safer after scores of initiatives – here's a new grassroots approachhttps://theconversation.com/africas-treacherous-roads-are-no-safer-after-scores-of-initiatives-heres-a-new-grassroots-approach-116709 2/5greater than malaria, tuberculosis and - in some countries - HIV/Aids. With the UN’s fifth global road safety week currently underway, things are not getting better.Most road fatalities in sub-Saharan Africa are pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. Many peoplehave no other mode of transport than walking or cycling. It’s common to see children and adultswalking along the edges of extremely busy roads, and vendors selling their goods there. Roads areoften poorly designed and inadequately maintained. Barriers, signage and footpaths tend to be pooror nonexistent. Vehicles are often badly maintained, while there are significant problems with drivertraining, drink driving and police enforcement of traffic laws.When academics and clinicians think about road collisions, we sometimes talk about the “trauma chain of survival”, which maximises victims’ chances of surviving and making a good recovery: thisinvolves getting early first aid, early life support, early interventions to limit or repair injuries, andearly rehabilitation.In sub-Saharan Africa, this chain tends to be seriously inadequate. When collisions occur, there isoften no public emergency ambulance service or universal emergency telephone number like 999 or911. Trained first aiders are very limited, so bystanders who provide pre-hospital care usually lack theknowledge, training, equipment, experience and transport to help. People often avoidably die as aresult.Hospitals frequently lack the equipment, staff and facilities to deal with road traffic victims properly.Neither are they usually able to provide the sort of early rehabilitation to benefit survivors. It all addsup to what is sometimes referred to as a wicked problem: one so incredibly complex that it’s hard toknow where best, or how best, to start to resolve it.The UN initiativeWicked problems require interdisciplinary thinking and multifaceted solutions. To this end, the UNGeneral Assembly has been overseeing a Decade of Action for Road Safety. This has been promotingfive policy pillars: road safety management; improving road infrastructure; increasing the number ofsafe vehicles; improving road user behaviour; and developing post-crash responses. The UN has set aglobal sustainable development goal to halve the number of road traffic related deaths and injuries bythe time the project ends in 2020, but it looks very unlikely to be achieved.This is not for the want of trying. Many African countries have been introducing reforms alongsidethis campaign. We have seen everything from a campaign in Kenya encouraging passengers tomonitor how well they are being driven, to training sessions for motorcyclists in Nigeria over roadsignage, to life support training for trauma nurses and doctors in Rwanda.5/15/2019 Africa's treacherous roads are no safer after scores of initiatives – here's a new grassroots approachhttps://theconversation.com/africas-treacherous-roads-are-no-safer-after-scores-of-initiatives-heres-a-new-grassroots-approach-116709 3/5The World Bank has funded a large range of road safety projects in over 35 developing countries withthe Global Road Safety Facility it established in 2006. In 2016, for instance, the fund leveraged a totalof US$411m (£316m) in investments.One recent example is a US$3.4m pilot project to improve emergency medical services on the M1 roadbetween Lilongwe and Blantyre in Malawi, one of the poorest in the world. It involves stationingambulances along the road, a well known collision hotspot, and training people to operate them. Thiswill inform the development of a formal emergency medical service across the country.This, however, will only target one part of the support system required to make a difference to thewider problem. And this is very much the challenge in microcosm: even with global institutionsputting their shoulders to the wheel, road traffic deaths are still growing too much in poorer countriesto achieve a turnaround.Safe Roads AfricaThere is growing evidence that wicked problems are best addressed not by large-scale actions, but bystacking up small wins. We have been trying to put this into practice by participating in a road traffic-related trauma project centred on Malawi.The road traffic fatality rate in Malawi is 35 deaths per 100,000 people, well above the Africanregional average of 26.6 deaths, and twice the global average of 17.4. In 2018, the Malawi PoliceService reported a 35% increase in road accidents; lately, for instance, the Ntcheu district in centralMalawi is still recovering from the deaths of 20 people after a lorry hit a crowd in a popular markettown in March.WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety, 2018. World Health Organisation5/15/2019 Africa's treacherous roads are no safer after scores of initiatives – here's a new grassroots approachhttps://theconversation.com/africas-treacherous-roads-are-no-safer-after-scores-of-initiatives-heres-a-new-grassroots-approach-116709 4/5Road safety Malawi Road deaths ZambiaOur response is called Safe Roads Africa, an interdisciplinary group from Scotland and Malawi thatincludes clinicians, academics, NGOs and community workers. We have been running pop-up eventsand community meetings in two areas of the country. These have included using role play andcommunity theatre to explore how people response to traffic collisions, and how this can be improved.We have also extended these events to neighbouring Zambia with encouraging results.In areas particularly at risk in both countries, the project hopes next year to begin training localpeople to become road safety champions. These people will promote best practice and providesustainable lifesaving first aid to accident victims in their area.The aim is that the Safe Roads Africa programme will be adaptable for the whole region. Obviouslycommunity interventions like these are only part of the solution to a vast issue. Clearly there are noeasy answers, but by continually raising awareness and being determined not to lose momentumwhen the UN decade of action comes to an end, the hope is that in time, this pernicious problem canfinally be forced into reverse.Before you go...Climate change is a crisis for civilisation. Evidence increasingly vindicatesscientists’ warnings, yet the mainstream media largely fails to address it. Byallowing other publishers and broadcasters free use of our evidence-basedcontent, The Conversation helps them to improve their analysis. Help us makeclimate change a priority in newsrooms.On the move, outskirts of Lilongwe, Malawi. hecke615/15/2019 Africa's treacherous roads are no safer after scores of initiatives – here's a new grassroots approachhttps://theconversation.com/africas-treacherous-roads-are-no-safer-after-scores-of-initiatives-heres-a-new-grassroots-approach-116709 5/5Will de FreitasEnvironment EditorDonate now

Africa's treacherous roads are no safer after scores of initiatives - here's a new grassroots approach

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Africa's treacherous roads are no safer after scores of initiatives - here's a new grassroots approach

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