By Samuel Akumatey
Ho, July 16, GNA – The Paediatric Society of Ghana (PSG), is calling on stakeholders to reconsider the nation’s transportation sector against the risk to children.
Dr. Hilda Mantebea Boye, President of the Society, said children remained the main victims of road accidents due to cognitive limitations and size, and that there was a need to re-evaluate the entire road transportation regime to guarantee their safety.
She made the call at the launch of the fourth edition of the annual National Child Road Safety Campaign of the Paediatric Society, an initiative done in collaboration with the National Road Safety Authority (NSRA).
About 35 per cent of global child deaths from road crashes were recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa, while Ghana recorded 952 such fatalities between 2019 and 2021.
The nation also had 14 per cent of the total 2,276 road accident-related deaths captured in the latest statistics as children below the age of 18, and the President of the Paediatric Society said the trend signalled the need for a hardened resolve to end the bloodshed.
Dr Boye said reckless driving, speeding, inadequate pedestrian infrastructure, and a general lack of awareness persisted as main causes of road accidents and should continue to inform stakeholder interventions in policy and infrastructure.
She said all including traditional and opinion leaders should realise the need to support efforts at addressing the child road safety challenge towards securing the lives of the world’s future generation.
Dr Boye said: “There is the need to advocate for policy for road accidents for children with stronger enforcement of traffic laws. The implementation of policies that prioritise the safety of children on our roads.
“We need to take a look at transportation for children across the country, – children as pedestrians, children being transported in Vehicles, on motorcycles, and others and see how we can improve their safety wherever they are in Ghana.
“We cannot do this alone. We need the support of every stakeholder – government agencies, law enforcement, educational institutions, businesses, parents, guardians and every citizen of Ghana. Together we can create a safer future for our children.”
Mrs. Faustina Oppong-Yeboah, the Acting Volta Regional Director of Highways, who was the keynote speaker at the launch said parents faced unending trauma when road crashed claim the lives of their children, and thus child road safety deserved special attention.
She said driver behaviour remained the major challenge to safety on the roads, adding to the lack of adequate road infrastructure for children in their vulnerabilities and which include pedestrian crossings and walkways.
Madam Joan Fafa Ayer, Volta Regional Director of the National Road Safety Authority said technology had begun to feature heavily in road safety management and that a cutting-edge national road traffic system contributed significantly to ensuring safe usage.
She said school buses as a dedicated transport for children deserved to be monitored for highest standards, and that the Authority would begin a special initiative of registering such vehicles to aid compliance.
“Each child has a potential and a role to play in the economic and social development of our country Ghana and we need to do all we can to provide the necessary protection and road safety for our children for a better future,” she said.
The 2024 National Child Road Safety Campaign is on the theme “The Right to Road Safety for Children; Everywhere, Every Time,” and a number of activities have been lined up for the month-long event.
Dr. Bright Danyoh, Chairman of the Paediatric Society of Ghana in the Volta Region which is hosting the campaign said various public engagements and outreaches defined the event, and that road safety would be feature heavily in OPD talks at various health facilities.
GNA