Road crash deaths in India continue to rise – WHO

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• What is Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023?
• News Summary: Road crash deaths in India continue to rise – WHO
• Key highlights of the Global status report on road safety 2023

Why in news?

• As per the recently released WHO’s Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023, annual number of road traffic deaths has dropped by 5 per cent to 1.19 million per year.
• India, however, registered a 15% increase in fatalities.

Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023

• The WHO Global status report on road Safety 2023 is the fifth in a series measuring progress in reducing road traffic deaths.
• This report covers progress between 2010 and 2021 and sets a baseline for efforts to meet the United Nations Decade of Action 2021–2030 target to halve road traffic deaths by 2030.
  • The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 in September 2020.
  • The goal is to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030.
• This report was produced with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
  • Since 2007, Bloomberg Philanthropies has committed $500 million to support road safety interventions in low- and middle-income countries and cities across the world.

News Summary: Key highlights of the Global status report on road safety 2023

• Countries succeeding in reducing road traffic deaths by over 50%
  • Ten countries succeeded in reducing road traffic deaths by over 50%.
    • These are - Belarus, Brunei Darussalam, Denmark, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, Russian Federation, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
  • Thirty-five more countries made notable progress, reducing road traffic deaths by 30% to 50%.
• Road traffic crashes have been the leading killer for children and young people
  • As of 2019, road traffic crashes have been the leading killer of children and youth aged five to 29 years.
  • These crashes are the 12th leading cause of death when all ages are considered.
• 5% reduction in absolute numbers of road traffic fatalities in last decade
  • This was accompanied with a growth in global population by nearly 14 billion.
  • This translates into the road fatality rate declining from 18 per 1 lakh people in 2010 to 15 per 1 lakh in 2021.
    • This represents a 16% decline in the road traffic death rate since 2010.
• Region wise traffic deaths
  • 28% of global road traffic deaths occurred in the WHO’s South-East Asia Region,
  • 25% in the Western Pacific Region,
  • 19% in the African Region,
  • 12% in the Region of the Americas,
  • 11% in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and
  • 5% in the European Region.
• Situation in low- and middle-income countries
  • Nine in 10 deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, and fatalities in these countries are disproportionately higher (3 times) when set against the number of vehicles and roads they have.
• Countries that meet WHO best practice for all risk factors
  • Just six countries have laws that meet WHO best practice for all risk factors (speeding, drunk–driving, and use of motorcycle helmets, seatbelts, and child restraints).
  • 140 countries (two-thirds of UN Member States) have such laws for at least one of these risk factors.
• India Specific observation
  • 
  • In India, the number of deaths reported due to road crashes in 2018 was 1,50,785 and it rose to 1,53,792 in 2021. The number was 1.3 lakh in 2010.

Q1) What is United Nations Decade of Action 2021–2030?

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 in September 2020. The goal is to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030.

Q2) What is World Health Organisation (WHO)?

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a United Nations agency that focuses on international public health. The WHO was founded on April 7, 1948, and has 51 founders. The first three founders were the United States, Brazil, and Mexico.

Source: Road fatalities drop globally, but India sees a rise: WHO report | WHO | Times of India