By Samuel Akumatey
Ho, Aug. 23, GNA – The Paediatric Society of Ghana (PSG) has appealed to stakeholders including parents to help ensure the safety of child road users.
Global data says a child dies from road accidents every four minutes, while in Ghana, one out of six accident fatalities was below the age of 18, and the child medical association said there was the need to save children from the gory fate.
Dr Gabrielle Obeng-Koranteng, Secretary of the Society, was addressing a seminar on child road safety in Ho, and said the Society was concerned about the incidents, and that it was time to consider widespread education on road safety.
“Yes, the need for us to teach Child Road Safety is much more dire than we think! Your neighbour, your pastor, your child’s teacher, your nieces, and nephews… Let us teach them now.”
She said personal responsibility for the child should extend beyond the home, and that parents, school management and others should be working together to end the harrowing narrative.
The seminar climaxes the PSGs monthlong Child Road Safety campaign which is on the theme “Road Safety-Teach the Child now!” and stakeholders there were drawn from law enforcement, road safety, and transport associations.
Participants agreed to the need for collective responsibility and the use of sustained education to awaken the roles of all including drivers and couriers, school management, police, road safety authority and state authorities.
Mr Bismark Elorm Sakitey, Assistant Planning Manager of the National Road Safety Authority in the Volta Region, said 22 per cent of fatalities from road accidents in the Region in 2022 involved children, with human factors accounting for the majority.
A presentation by Dr Sylvanus Dadzie, a medical officer at the Teaching Hospital showed that 52 per cent of child victims brought to the facility in 2022 were of school going age, meaning focus should be on school commute.
He said 51 per cent of children involved in car crashes suffered various fractures, while 38 per cent suffered head injuries, and said the Hospital lacked neurosurgical competence for such incidents.
Vehicular knockdowns constituted 52 per cent of child road crash incidents sent to the tertiary facility, while motorcycles accounted for 24 per cent, passenger cars 14 per cent and commercial tricycles recorded 10 per cent.
Stakeholders called for tighter regulations of tricycle and motorbike use, while also asking for road safety markings and user signals for safe commute by children.
Drivers and couriers of school children were asked to always assist them across the roads, and school managements were to ensure the availability of zebra crossings and lollipop stands for safety.
School buses were to be made safe and conducive with emergency tools such as fire extinguishers and first aid for users.
Officials of the commercial transportation unions said various training and seminars for drivers contained components on how to care for children, adding that such services involved ensuring that they got to their destinations safely.
Parents were asked to inculcate road safety awareness early in their children, and calls were also made for first aid knowledge to be enhanced among drivers.
Dr Richard Bright Danyoh, Acting Head of Paediatric and Child Health Sub BMC of the Teaching Hospital, and who is the Local Organising Committee Chairman of the child road safety campaign, said it was important that the public took interest in the frequency of the cases, and that the numbers in the wards should awaken all to the situation.
He said stakeholders should consider making ambulance services free for children, as delay in accessing the emergency service due to cost, increased the chances of death among child victims, and that a fund could be set up for the cause.
Dr Danyoh said health personnel could best advocate for support for children, adding that the hospital was a major point of call and was indispensable in promoting education and awareness.
Dr Emmanuel Kasu, Director of Medical Services at the facility, said calls for safety infrastructure on the roads should be heeded to, adding that it was important for pedestrian walkways to be made to serve their intended purposes and not be overtaken by curb businesses.
The Director also added the need to provide structures on highways for police and other road traffic personnel to enhance their comfort and deliverability on the job.
The seminar was transmitted on virtual mediums and had participation from across the country and beyond.
Activities of the child road safety campaign had included sensitisation tours to schools, churches, and media houses.
GNA