Every year, 1.25 million people die from road traffic injuries, and another 20–50 million people sustain nonfatal injuries as a result of road traffic collisions or crashes. Road traffic injuries are a top 10 cause of death globally, and the leading cause of death for people aged 15–29.
“The carnage that occurs on the world’s roads every single day is a public health crisis of gargantuan proportions,” said Dr Bernhard Schwartländer, WHO Representative in China.
The economic costs of road crashes are also substantial: globally an estimated 3% of GDP is lost to road traffic deaths and injuries. Low- and middle-income countries lose up to 5% of GDP as a result of road traffic crashes.
“Countries cannot develop sustainably when this many people are dying and being injured on the world’s roads, as they go about their daily lives. Road crashes impoverish families, ruin livelihoods, and impose a heavy burden on countries’ health systems, societies and economies,” Dr Schwartländer said.
Last year, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development along with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. One of the targets under the SDG ‘Good Health and Well-Being’ includes halving the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020.
WHO China is holding a Health Dialogue today under the theme of ‘Safe Roads Save Lives’. WHO’s Health Dialogues are designed to provide forums for strategic discussion on critical public health issues facing China, and the world. Among the panelists at the event is award-winning actress Michelle Yeoh, in her capacity as Global Ambassador for the FIA Foundation’s Make Roads Safe Campaign, as well as her role as Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Development Program (UNDP).
“Around the world, I’ve seen the terrible impact that road crashes have on people’s lives. Making the world’s roads safe for everyone will help to deliver on the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda of ‘Transforming our World’. We must act now to make this issue a global priority,” says Ms Yeoh.
There is now a wealth of evidence which shows that a range of interventions, from legislation, to changing driver behaviour – for example, in areas including speed, use of seatbelts and child restraints, drink driving, and helmet use – to vehicle design and improving road infrastructure, reduces the risk of injury and death due to road traffic accidents.
In China, WHO estimates that approximately 260,000 people die as a result of road accidents each year. Of the total estimated deaths, around 6 in 10 are vulnerable road users – pedestrians, cyclists, and people on motorcycles.
“By definition, the millions of road traffic deaths and injuries which occur around the world every year are preventable. While this is an utter travesty, it also means that with the right amount of resources and determination to make changes today, it is entirely within the realm of possibility to create a better and safer tomorrow,” Dr Schwartländer said.
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WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
For more information, please contact:
Ms WU Linlin
WHO China Office
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