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WORLD HEALTH DAY: ROAD SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT! WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION CALLS FOR ACTION TO LOWER THE DEATH TOLL ON THE WORLD'S ROADS

Failure to Act Now Will Result in Significant Rise in Death And Injury Due To

Road Crashes

GENEVA, April 7 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank stress that globally road crashes are the second leading cause of death among young people aged 5 to 29 years and the third leading cause of death among people aged 30 to 44 years(1). Road crashes kill 1.2 million people every year and injure or disable between 20 million and 50 million more(2). Without immediate action to improve road safety, it is estimated that road traffic deaths will increase by 80% in low- and middle- income countries by 2020. A joint report launched by the organizations today demonstrates in no uncertain terms that "Road Safety is no Accident."

   Notes: (1) See map, http://www.xfn.com/xfn/RoadTraffic.htm , and table,
              http://www.xfn.com/xfn/AgeGroup.htm .
          (2) This estimate range is wide as there is significant under-
              reporting of non-fatal injuries.

"Thousands of people die on the world's roads everyday. We are not talking about random events or 'accidents.' We are talking about road crashes whose risks can be understood and therefore can be prevented," said Dr Lee Jong-wook, Director-General, World Health Organization. "Road safety is no accident. We have the knowledge to act now. It is a question of political will," he added.

The magnitude of this growing global public health crisis, the risk factors that lead to road traffic deaths and injuries and effective ways to prevent them are detailed in the World report on road traffic injury prevention. The report provides governments and other policy-makers, industry, nongovernmental organizations, international agencies and individuals with concrete recommendations to improve road safety.

Human and Economic cost

Unlike in high-income countries where those most at risk of injury or death are drivers and passengers in cars, the people who are most at risk of being involved in a road traffic crash in low- and middle-income countries are pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and users of informal modes of public transport.

The human suffering caused by road crashes is huge -- for every victim of a crash, there are family members, friends, and communities who must cope with the physical, psychological and economic consequences of the death, injury or disability of a loved one. Crash survivors and their families must cope with the painful and often long-term consequences of injury, disability and rehabilitation. In many cases, the cost of care, the loss of the primary breadwinner, funeral expenses, or the loss of income due to disability can drive a family into poverty.

The human suffering is in itself a reason to act now. The economic impact also cannot be underestimated. In low- and middle-income countries, the cost of road traffic injuries is estimated at US$ 65 billion, exceeding the total amount these countries receive in development assistance. Road traffic injuries cost countries between 1% and 2% of gross national product, amounting to US$518 billion every year.

Action has made a difference

However, many countries have already demonstrated that actions to improve road safety will protect people. Recent gains have been achieved in nations such as Colombia, Costa Rica, Ghana and Thailand. In past decades tens of thousands of lives have been saved in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States of America and others countries in Western Europe. This success is attributed to improving the design of vehicles and roads and focusing on legislation, enforcement and sharing of information about the use of seat- belts, helmets, and child restraints and about the dangers of speed and drink- driving.

Among the report's recommendations are the appointment of a lead agency in every country to coordinate multisectoral efforts, the preparation of national road safety strategies and plans of action with clear roles and objectives for each sector, and the implementation of proven interventions to prevent crashes and minimize injuries and their consequences. The report notes that road safety is a shared responsibility, and calls on the expertise of people across many sectors and disciplines, including public health professionals, health care providers, road and motor vehicle engineers, law enforcement officials and educators.

                       ROAD SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT!

           World Health Day 2004 Offers a Historic Opportunity
                  To Increase Investment in Road Safety

         French President Jacques Chirac to Head Key Paris Event

For the first time in the history of the Organization, WHO has dedicated World Health Day 2004 to "Road Safety." Citizens in more than 100 countries are hosting hundreds of World Health Day events. These range from a road safety festival in Lebanon to theatre performances in public parks for children in Brazil and from a helmet fashion show in Viet Nam to the inauguration of a remembrance garden for victims in South Africa. Others events include conferences and seminars, award ceremonies, and the launch of road safety campaigns and a multi-million dollar international research programme on injury prevention.

Hosted by WHO and the Government of France, the key global World Health Day event takes place in Paris today as France has typified the approach WHO and the World Bank are advocating. A combination of political will and effective action reduced the deaths on the roads in France by 20% in 2003, saving 1,500 lives and preventing thousands of injuries. The event takes place at the Centre de conferences internationales Kleber with the participation of Dr Lee Jong-wook, WHO Director-General; Mr Jacques Chirac, President of France; Ministers of Health from the Czech Republic, France, Ghana and Nicaragua; Ministers of Transport from France, Oman, Slovakia and the United States of America; and 300 representatives of some of the world's leading road safety organizations such as the Association for Safe International Road Travel (United States of America), the FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society (United Kingdom), the Ligue contre la Violence Routiere (France), the Swedish National Road Administration (Sweden) and the World Bank. This high-profile event will be the occasion for the global release of the World report on road traffic injury prevention.

On 14 April as an immediate follow up to World Health Day, the UN General Assembly will devote a session to discuss road safety for the very first time in its history.

"At the occasion of World Health Day 2004 WHO is ringing the alarm bell to draw attention to this global crisis. From small victim associations to the UN General Assembly, from governments to the private sector, the global response is huge. World Health Day will allow us to unite and take important additional steps towards ending the carnage on the world's roads," said Dr Etienne Krug, Director of the WHO's Department of Injuries and Violence Prevention.

For more information about World Health Day activities, visit www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/activities/en/ .

 WORLD HEALTH DAY - HEADS OF STATE AGREE THAT ROAD SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT

  Prime Minister Tony Blair, United Kingdom

Road traffic injuries hit the most deprived communities the hardest. In the UK, the poorest children are 5 times more likely to die on our roads than the better off. And this picture is replicated around the globe. Each year more than one million people die world wide as the result of road crashes and collisions. And 50 million more are injured. So the scale of the problem is hard to over estimate by 2020 road injuries could overtake HIV and tuberculosis to rank third in the causes of premature death and disability around the world.

President George W. Bush, United States of America

Today the death toll from traffic injuries is highest in developing countries and it continues to grown as nations become more prosperous and motorized. In the United States, traffic accidents remain the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 35.

  President Janez Drnovsek, Republic of Slovenia
   (Slovenian translated into English)

Each life is precious. Road accidents have destructive personal consequences on the victims, families and communities and have, as consequence, significant negative social ramifications. This is why we should spare no effort to achieve even more in the area of road safety.

President Girma Wolde Giorgis, Ethiopia

We must not accept road traffic accident as an inevitable side effect of development.

Leaving the issue of traffic problems to any single body is unthinkable. The road transport authority, police, health and law professionals, insurance companies etc. should forge a strong sense of cooperation and work in unison towards the realization of safer streets.

World health day 2004 on road safety is what our country Ethiopia needs. The country will use this day to promote and ensure use of seat belts, action against speeding motorists and those driving under the influence of alcohol.

President Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

The theme "Road Safety is no accident is relevant to both developed and developing countries. The challenge for Timor Leste, which is also a challenge to all countries, is to have a strong and sustained political will to make the road an environment that is safe for all. My vision is for roads that are well built and designed; roads with responsible drivers, passengers and pedestrians: roads with road worthy vehicles; roads without accidents and ultimately, roads occupied by happy, smiling and healthy people of all nations.

President Romano Prodi, European Commission

Improving road safety worldwide is a shared responsibility, calling for a strong commitment at all levels-political and administrative, national and international, regional and local authorities, private companies and last but not least individual citizens.

His Majesty Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, King of Nepal

As road traffic injuries remain amongst the top global causes of death, transcending all boundaries and nationalities, it is time for this issue to be addressed in a global way.

Statistics show that the highest number of road fatalities and disabilities take place in the developing countries of Asia, where pedestrians, motorcyclists, cyclists and public transport users are most vulnerable.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand

Effective and sustainable prevention of road traffic injuries can only be achieved through concerted multisectoral collaboration. In Thailand, road traffic accident is one of the important health problems, which has caused significant economic and social losses. Such a problem has always been one of the top three serious health problems, in terms of burden of disease.

It has been estimated that over 30% of inpatient beds of the hospitals under the Thai Ministry of Public Health are occupied by road traffic accident victims, who usually require more bed-days than other categories of inpatients. And each year, due to this kind of accidents, there are more than 13,000 deaths, more than one million injuries, and tens of thousands of disabilities.

  For more information, please contact:

   Helen Green,
   Tel:    +41-22-791-3432
   Mobile: +41-79-244-6092

   Laura Sminkey,
   Tel:    +41-22-791-4547
   Mobile: +41-79-249-3520

Multimedia content: To download the report, visit http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/en/ .

To access the web feature on road safety, visit http://www.who.int/features/2004/road_safety/en/.

To download messages from Heads of State including George Bush and Tony Blair on World Health Day, visit http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/press/multimedia/en/ .

To order hard copies of the report, contact http://bookorders.who.int/

Web Sites: http://www.xfn.com/xfn/RoadTraffic.htm
http://www.xfn.com/xfn/AgeGroup.htm
http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/activities/en
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/en
http://www.who.int/features/2004/road_safety/en
http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/press/multimedia/en