Weak highway customers represent 66% of all reported highway visitors deaths in our area, stated Saima Wajid
New Delhi:
The World Well being Group on Monday known as on nations within the WHO South-East Asia Area to speed up measures to scale back highway visitors deaths, a number one explanation for mortality amongst younger folks aged 15-29.
“Weak highway customers, together with pedestrians, bicyclists and two or three-wheelers represent 66 per cent of all reported highway visitors deaths in our area,” stated Saima Wazed, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia, in her handle on the fifteenth World Convention on Harm Prevention and Security Promotion (Security 2024) which started right here right this moment.
She emphasised that the roads and their networks have to be designed prioritising these most in danger — youngsters and adolescents, folks with disabilities, pedestrians and different weak teams.
The WHO South-East Asia Area accounted for 330,223 of the 1.19 million estimated world highway visitors deaths in 2021, representing 28 computer of the worldwide burden, the WHO stated in an announcement.
With 70 per cent of the worldwide inhabitants projected to reside in city areas by 2030, demand for public transport will surge. The WHO South-East Asia Area, amid fast urbanisation, faces shared challenges — a excessive prevalence of motorised two and three-wheelers, insufficient visitors harm information, poor pedestrian and bicycle owner infrastructure, and restricted emergency providers, it stated.
In contrast to high-income nations, the place highway security measures typically deal with automobile occupants, low and middle-income nations must prioritise the security of weak highway customers, akin to pedestrians, cyclists and riders of two and three-wheelers who’re disproportionately at greater danger.
Strengthening trauma and emergency care programs, enhancing highway security information, robust management and selling collaboration amongst all stakeholders are important for enhancing highway security, the assertion stated.
“I’m an ideal believer in collaborations and partnerships — and increasing these to non-traditional stakeholders,” stated the regional director.
“This may be our second to rethink and redo mobility for wholesome cities. A holistic strategy requires a cross-cutting, multi-sectoral strategy, requiring collaboration with native governments, city planners, visitors policing, regulation enforcement and others,” she added.
Highway security, a public well being and improvement precedence, is essential to reaching the UN Sustainable Improvement Objectives (SDGs). In September 2020, the UN Basic Meeting launched the Decade of Motion for Highway Security 2021-2030 which goals to scale back highway visitors deaths and accidents by at the very least 50 per cent by 2030, Wazed stated.
Whereas the WHO South-East Asia Area noticed a 2 per cent lower in highway fatalities in 2021, contributing to a world 5 per cent discount, additional efforts are wanted to fulfill world targets.
On the World Convention, the regional director launched the ‘WHO South-East Asia Regional Standing Report on Highway Security: In direction of Safer and Sustainable Mobility.’ “This report outlines highway visitors harm patterns in our nations and highlights finest practices and country-specific interventions. It’s each well timed and important for assessing our present place, and for guiding crucial actions to realize world targets,” she acknowledged.
Addressing these challenges and implementing beneficial methods can be key to advancing highway security and reaching the 2030 targets, Wazed acknowledged.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
