Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA: The cost of road safety reaches 5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the African continent, a senior United Nations official has said.
The statement was made by Jean Todt, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, during a meeting held to mark the 7th UN Road safety week, which was hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in collaboration with partners.
The event, which is said to be part of the 7th UN Road safety week underway from May 15-21, focuses on sustainable transport with strong calls for “governments to facilitate a shift to walking, cycling and the use of public transport,” the UNECA disclosed in a statement.
Todt, commending the efforts of ECA to overcome the road safety challenges on the continent together with partners, highlighted the need for strong road safety management to reach the target of the Decade 2021-2023 of Road Safety.
“The cost of road safety reaches 5 percent of the GDP of the African continent and that affects everyone; this is why road safety management is a vital component for helping economic growth, social development and environmental preservation,” the statement quoted Todt as saying.
ECA’s Acting Executive Secretary, Antonio Pedro, said research on implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) shows Africa “would require over two million additional trucks to meet the increased demand for road freight.”
“It is expected that most of these trucks will be second-hand vehicles, with serious road safety and environmental implications, in the absence of strong regulation on used vehicles,” the statement quoted Pedro as saying.
In the world’s region most affected by road crashes, sub-Saharan Africa’s fatality rate is 27 per 100,000 inhabitants. That is three times higher than Europe’s average of nine and well above the global average of 18, according to figures from the UN.
(File Photo) World Bank/Stephan Gladieu Over-loaded vehicles, like this motorcycle taxi in Benin, are a major cause of road traffic accidents in the developing world.
