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Traffic deadlier than malaria, ignored by NGOs: Study

1.3 million people die a year from traffic accidents globally, malaria kills approximately 1 million people a year

More people die from traffic accidents than from malaria each year in the developing world but the problem of road safety is being ignored by aid groups and international institutions, a report said on Tuesday.

The study, entitled "Make Roads Safe: A Decade of Action for Road Safety", concluded that $300-million spent globally on improving roads, campaigns to raise public awareness, and more traffic police could save 5 million lives between 2010 and 2020.

At present, 1.3 million people die a year from traffic accidents globally, most of them in mid- to low-income countries. That is forecast to climb to 1.9 million by 2020.

"Aid agencies, development NGOs, philanthropic foundations and key international institutions continue to neglect or ignore this rapidly growing problem," the report said.

It estimated the cost of road accidents in the developing world at $100-billion a year -- equivalent to all overseas aid from the developed nations of the OECD.

The Commission for Road Safety, founded by the Federation Internationale de l'Auto (FIA) which governs world motor sport, launched the report in Rome on Tuesday in the presence of Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa.

It called for a UN campaign to reduce the number of road deaths to under one million by 2020.

"By making small improvements, we can save many lives," Mr. Massa told Reuters, citing issues like drink driving and the poor condition of many ageing cars. "Speeding, for sure, is important ... My job is to go fast, but only on the race track."

Road safety could prove a significant economic boost for poor nations. Every $1 spent on road safety in the developing world would save up to $20 in improved productivity, health and earnings, the report concluded.

It called for governments attending the first UN meeting on road safety in Moscow this November to back a number of specific measures, such as global rules making helmets for motorcyclists and seatbelts for car users compulsory by 2020.

Other simple changes, like an increase in the number of traffic police or the introduction of motorbike lanes, could also have a dramatic impact on road fatalities and injuries.

The roads in many poor nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America are packed with old cars, trucks and buses, exported from richer nations when tighter environmental and safety controls made them unroadworthy.

Though the world economic crisis has slowed sales, the number of cars on the road, particularly in developing nations, is forecast to rise steeply in the next decade. India's Tata Motors is due to introduce the world's cheapest car in July, and other makers are eying the low-income market.

Road accidents are already the main cause of death worldwide for young people between the age of 10 and 24. In the developing world, it is set to become the leading cause of death in children aged 5-14 by 2014, overshadowing malnutrition and infectious diseases, the report said.

By comparison, malaria kills approximately 1 million people a year -- 90% of them in Africa.


© Thomson Reuters 2009, Daniel Flynn