Govt teams up with four Asian countries for rural roads upgrade to curb road accidents.

Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Donan Mbando.

Tanzania has partnered with four Asian countries for a rural road development initiative to improve road safety and increase market access.

 

With auspicious support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) the government will work with the Philippines, Thailand, China and Vietnam the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Donan Mbando said at a road safety stakeholders meeting over the weekend in Dar es Salaam.

 

 “As the only African country, Tanzania will benefit from the experience it will gain during the project,” he said.

 

He said the ambitious project will do more than upgrade rural roads and improve access to markets, it will also improve education and healthcare services and ensure road safety as well.

 

“Improving rural roads will bring economic and social benefits to the country at the same time reduce road traffic accidents,” he explained.

 

He said the growing tourism industry, mining and construction and recent discoveries of gas have contributed to rapid expansion of transport sector and rapid increase in motorisation rates but also, increased road accidents.

 

“Road traffic accidents increase every year and so the government and donors have decided to develop this ambitious programme to upgrade rural roads,” Mbando emphasised.

 

On her part, the representative from WHO, Dr Margie Peden said according to the WHO Global Status Report, 2013 on Road Safety, 1.24 million people are killed each year on the roads and between twenty and fifty million people are seriously injured in those traffic accidents. 

 

Dr Peden said road accidents and injuries are in fact the leading cause of death for youth between 15 and 29 years of age. 

 

“If the problem is not urgently solved, accidents shall jump from being the ninth to the fifth leading cause of death by 2030, higher than HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis combined,” warned the World Health Organisation representative.