🔗 Car crashes are killing too many young Africans like Kelvin Kiptum.
Last year, the World Health Organization reported that traffic fatalities had increased by 17 percent in Africa over the past 10 years, even as they fell 5 percent overall worldwide. Road crashes are now one of the top causes of the deaths in a continent contending with plenty of other public health challenges.
The rise in traffic crashes may partly reflect Africa’s economic growth in recent years. “Part of the reason for increased fatalities in Africa is the increase in the number of vehicles on the roads,” Nhan Tran, who leads the WHO’s safety and mobility unit, told the Guardian in December. “People who were not able to afford a vehicle 10 or 20 years ago can now buy one. Africa has seen a big increase in motorization, but the infrastructure to facilitate it is not there.”