The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has launched an Accra Retrospective Hospital Report 2020-2021 to complement the efforts of the Police in the assessment of road traffic deaths and serious injuries in the city.
The report also recommended post-crash care, policy implementation and interventions to reduce the fatalities on the roads of Accra.
The hospital study report was supported by the Accident Centre and Mortuary Department of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the Accident and Emergency Department, Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital) and the Trauma Surgical Emergency Unit and Mortuary Department of 37 Military Hospital.
The report revealed a total of 559 road traffic deaths in Accra within the period of 2020-2021.
The study highlighted the need to develop good road crash data systems to get more realistic counts of deaths, better understand the magnitude of deaths and injuries and track trends over time to inform interventions to save lives.
The study was initiated by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) in partnership with the AMA.
The launch of the report formed part of activities commemorating the UN Global Road Safety Week organised by the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), AMA and the BlGRS to create awareness for the reduction of road fatalities.
This year’s Road Safety Week, which is the 7th edition is on the theme: “Rethink Mobility,” and it focuses on the shift to walking, cycling and the use of public transport.
Mrs Elizabeth Kwatsoe Sackey, the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive in an address, urged road safety stakeholder institutions including the AMA, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Roads and Highways, the NRSA, Department of Urban Roads, the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Department, among others to use the report effectively to guide actions to improve safety.
She noted that a higher proportion of the deaths within the period from hospital records showed injuries to the head and that most of the victims were motorcyclists and pedestrians.
“As we commemorate this event with a series of activities lined up within this week, it is essential for stakeholders to rethink the modes of our mobility or transportation, ensuring that the safety of pedestrians and cyclists are not compromised,” she stated.
Mrs Sackey said road traffic injuries were still a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with around 1.3 million people killed and as many as 50 million injured each year.
“Recognising the importance of the problem and the need to act, governments from around the world declared unanimously through UN General Assembly Resolution a Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 with the explicit target to reduce road deaths and injuries by at least 50 per cent during the period.
“This plan aims to inspire national and local government, as well as other stakeholders who can influence road safety as we develop national and local action plans and targets for the Decade of Action,” she stated.
Mr David Osafo Adonteng, the Acting Director General, NRSA commended the AMA and BIGRS for initiating the hospital study report, which would help with the provision of data to support the agencies to come up with measures to reduce road crashes.
He said during the week, the Authority as lead agency together with the partners would carry out road crash awareness across the country and in Accra, their concentration would be at Lapaz, Apekwa and Madina Zongo Junction.
“These areas are all the time adding up to our road fatality figures or statistics and if we are able to hold Accra, possibly the programme could be extended to other regions like Kumasi and others,” he stated.
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