Unlike high-income countries, where road safety measures often focus on car riders, low- and middle-income countries need to prioritise the safety of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, and two- and three-wheeler riders, who are disproportionately at higher risk. | Photo Credit: ANI
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called on countries in the South-East Asia Region to accelerate measures to reduce road traffic deaths, a leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 29.
“Vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, two-wheeler and three-wheeler riders, account for 66% of road traffic deaths in our region,” said Saima Wazed, Regional Director for the World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia, in her address at the 15th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion (Safety 2024) which began here on Monday.
Of the estimated 1.19 million global road traffic deaths in 2021, 3,30,223 occurred in the region, accounting for 28% of the global burden.
A release issued by the group said that with 70% of the global population projected to live in urban areas by 2030, the demand for public transport will increase. It said that amid rapid urbanisation, the sector faces shared challenges including a high prevalence of motorised two-wheelers and three-wheelers, inadequate traffic injury data, lack of pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure, and limited emergency services.
For road safety, the committee has recommended a holistic, multi-sectoral approach, which will require collaboration with local governments, urban planners, traffic police, law enforcement, etc.
Launching the ‘WHO South-East Asia Regional Status Report on Road Safety: Towards safe and sustainable mobility’ at the World Conference, Ms Wazed said, “This report outlines patterns of road traffic injuries in our countries and highlights best practices and country-specific interventions. It is both timely and essential to assess our current situation and guide the actions needed to achieve the global goals.”