Gambia: Transport Ministry to Embark On Nationwide Road Crash Victims Survey

4 September 2023
The Point (Banjul)
By Lamin Njie

Road Traffic Accident (RTA), victims suffer from different types of injuries and disabilities, which can affect their quality of life. Most road traffic accident victims usually face various physical, mental, and social problems, finding it difficult to reintegrate back into 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 county, soon.

According to officials of the Ministry, the information collected during the mapping out exercise would serve as the basis and methods for financial and material support for road crash victims. It would also help to create a database for road crash victims in the country; findings would help to create an association for the 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 harmonisation 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 annually over the past years.

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