MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2004
WHO warns of mounting death toll on Asian roads
AFP
MANILA: An estimated 10 million people are either killed or injured on Asia-Pacific roads each year, making it a major health problem for the region, the World Health organisation (WHO) said in a statement on Monday.
The Asia-Pacific region accounts for about 60 per cent of global road deaths, despite having only 16 per cent of the world's vehicles.
Road deaths jumped by nearly 40 per cent in Asia between 1987 and 1995 while in developed nations, they fell by about 10 per cent because of better safety measures, the WHO said.
WHO estimates that if current trends continued, road accidents will be the third global cause of disease or injury by 2020, after heart disease and depression, with the numbers of those killed and disabled up by 60 per cent.
Given the magnitude and urgency of the issue, road safety is the theme for WHO's World Health Day on Wednesday.
"Roads have been the gateway for the development in the region," said Dr Shigeru Omi, WHO's regional director for the Western Pacific.
"But tragically, roads are where many people are injured, disabled or killed. Road deaths are needless, brutal and devastating for victims' families. This is a public health crisis which demands our attention."
While motorisation and urbanisation are escalating, road infrastructure, safety measures and trauma care lag behind, he said.
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