By Lamin Njie
Road Traffic Accident (RTA) victims suffer from different types of injuries and disabilities, which can affect their quality of life. The result of the accidents could range from physical, mental, to social challenges resulting to difficulties in re-integrating back into the society.
In this regard, the Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure in collaboration with stakeholders in road safety, will embark on a nationwide road traffic crash victim survey across the country.
According to officials of the Ministry, the data collected during the exercise will serve as the basis and methods for financial and material support for road crash victims. It will also help create a national database for road crash victims in the country.
According to the Global Status Report (WHO 2018), more than 1.35 million people each year are killed in road traffic crashes around the world, while an additional 20 to 50 million are injured by these accidents. Road traffic injuries are among the world’s leading causes of death for individuals between the ages of one and thirty in all countries around the world.
In The Gambia, road traffic injuries and fatalities are increasing annually. As highlighted in the Gambia Police Force road traffic injuries annual report 2021, 13 % of road crashes resulted in fatalities, 36% serious injuries, 27% minor injuries, and 25% non-crash injuries.
Crash data collection in The Gambia is mostly manual and these are usually done at the police stations and hospitals. There is no proper synchronization of data among institutions such as the police traffic unit, police statistics unit, and hospitals. As a result, the lack of harmonization leads to data being duplicated or not recorded.
The United Nations passed and adopted a resolution on 26th October 2005 to mark the third Sunday in November each year as World Day Remembrance for road traffic victims. The Gambia joins the rest of the world in commemorating this important event every year over the past years.