Bloomberg Philanthropies has revealed plans of committing a share of $240million in the fight against road traffic deaths in Ghana.
The six-year period initiative is dedicated to 15 countries and 30 cities around the world that have made exemplary progress in combating road traffic deaths of which Ghana’s Accra and Kumasi are no exception.
The new fund is to “support to effectively implement best-practice road safety activities, including running hard-hitting media campaigns to raise road user understanding of risk factors, training the police forcei n best practice enforcement, and redesigning high-crash, high-fatality corridors and intersection.”
The initiative for global road safety is set to reduce deaths on high-mortality roads, including interstate highways, through reduced speed limits, wider use of helmet and seatbelts, and fewer drivers speeding and drinking and driving.
Communication Coordinator, Mavis Obeng-Mensah, in a press statement explained the intention is to save 600,000 more lives and to prevent up to 22 million injuries worldwide.
Road traffic injuries are the 8th leading cause of death globally and the number one killer of people ages five-29. More than 1.35 million people die and up to 50 million are seriously injured in road traffic crashes each year.
Additionally, the economic losses are staggering – a recent report released by the World Bank found that, reducing road traffic deaths and injuries by half could add 7-22% to GDP per capita in five selected low- and middle-income countries over the next 24 years.