Abstract
ObjectiveTo estimate the burden of road traffic injuries and deaths for all road users and among different road user groups in Africa.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health, Google Scholar, websites of African road safety agencies and organizations for registry- and population-based studies and reports on road traffic injury and death estimates in Africa, published between 1980 and 2015. Available data for all road users and by road user group were extracted and analysed. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis and estimated pooled rates of road traffic injuries and deaths.FindingsWe identified 39 studies from 15 African countries. The estimated pooled rate for road traffic injury was 65.2 per 100 000 population (95% confidence interval, CI: 60.8–69.5) and the death rate was 16.6 per 100 000 population (95% CI: 15.2–18.0). Road traffic injury rates increased from 40.7 per 100 000 population in the 1990s to 92.9 per 100 000 population between 2010 and 2015, while death rates decreased from 19.9 per 100 000 population in the 1990s to 9.3 per 100 000 population between 2010 and 2015. The highest road traffic death rate was among motorized four-wheeler occupants at 5.9 per 100 000 population (95% CI: 4.4–7.4), closely followed by pedestrians at 3.4 per 100 000 population (95% CI: 2.5–4.2).ConclusionThe burden of road traffic injury and death is high in Africa. Since registry-based reports underestimate the burden, a systematic collation of road traffic injury and death data is needed to determine the true burden.
Highlights
Road traffic injuries are among the leading causes of death and life-long disability globally.[1]
According to the 2015 Global status report on road safety, the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region had the highest rate of fatalities from road traffic injuries worldwide at 26.6 per 100 000 population for the year 2013.1,2 In 2013, over 85% of all deaths and 90% of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) lost from road traffic injuries occurred in low- and middle-income countries, which have only 47% of the world’s registered vehicles.[2,3]
This study aimed to review existing literature on published studies, registry-based reports and unpublished articles on the burden of road traffic injuries and deaths in the African continent to generate a continent-wide estimate of road traffic injuries and deaths for all road users and by road user type
Summary
Road traffic injuries are among the leading causes of death and life-long disability globally.[1]. According to the 2015 Global status report on road safety, the WHO African Region had the highest rate of fatalities from road traffic injuries worldwide at 26.6 per 100 000 population for the year 2013.1,2 In 2013, over 85% of all deaths and 90% of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) lost from road traffic injuries occurred in low- and middle-income countries, which have only 47% of the world’s registered vehicles.[2,3] The increased burden from road traffic injuries and deaths is partly due to economic development, which has led to an increased number of vehicles on the road.[5,6] Given that air and rail transport are either expensive or unavailable in many African countries, the only widely available and affordable means of mobility in the region is road transport.[1,2,7] the road infrastructure has not improved to the same level to accommodate the increased number of commuters and ensure their safety and as such many people are exposed daily to an unsafe road environment.[1,4]
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