ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS – A PUBIC HEALTH BURDEN
Rotarians to act to reduce road traffic accidents
ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS – A MAJOR PUBIC HEALTH ISSUE
Statistics relating to Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) are shocking.
It is estimated that 1.2 million people are killed on roads every year and up to 50 million more are injured. For everyone killed, injured, or disabled by RTA, there are countless others deeply affected by the cost of prolonged medical care, loss of a family bread winner, or the extra funds needed to care for the people with disabilities. RTA survivors, their families, friends, and other care givers often suffer adverse social, physical, and psychological effects. If the current trends continue, the number of people killed and injured on the world’s roads will rise by more than 60% by 2020.
It is time for us to act.
Dr Tito, an Orthopaedic surgeon working in the Mulago Hospital in Uganda says: ‘In Uganda, 95% of RTAs result from human error. The majority of the victims are 20-40 years old. There were in 2010, 14,148 victims were treated in his hospital – the cost of this was USD 19,184,688!’
UN ROAD SAFETY INITIATIVES – AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ROTARIANS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE