As noted in the recently released WHO and UNICEF World Report on Child Injury Prevention, globally, road traffic injuries (RTI) are the leading cause of death among 10-19 year-olds with more than 260,000 children dying from RTIs each year. (1) In addition, an estimated 10 million more children are non-fatally injured. Africa has the world's highest RTI mortality rate at 28.3 per 100,000 (2), yet relatively few resources and attention are given to the prevention of RTI in Africa; the dearth of information regarding the impact and cost-effectiveness of injury-prevention interventions on the continent is staggering.

Amend.org is a non-governmental organization that focuses on road traffic safety for children in sub-Saharan Africa. Programs include media outreach, the distribution of reflective material to school children, and the teaching of road traffic safety courses in primary schools. The results of pre- and post-program evaluative tests in five sample primary schools in Ghana showed improved levels of student understanding of road safety strategies. This education initiative, called Be Seen, Be Safe, has been introduced to over 30,000 school children in Ghana and plans are underway to introduce it in Tanzania in the coming months. An additional program included a seminar on RTI issues conducted for the media in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. Journalists and editors from 28 newspapers, representing approximately half of the country's newspapers attended. Comparison of newspaper articles on road traffic safety collected three weeks prior to the workshop compared with six weeks after the workshop showed an increase of 20% for numbers of commentaries and informational stories relating to RTIs. Clearly, the need for greater public education and awareness was recognized by the journalists and editors.

As the evidence mounts about the major public health epidemic resulting from RTIs, especially in Africa and other developing countries, promising efforts such as those undertaken by Amend.org must be encouraged and expanded. However, we urge that all programs be developed in collaboration with local stakeholders and undergo rigorous evaluation to assure their effectiveness.

1 In: Peden M, Oyegbite K, Ozanne-Smith J, et al, eds. World report on child injury prevention. 2008. http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/child/injury/world_report/en/index.html. (accessed Jan 8, 2009).

2. In: Peden, M; Scurfield, R; Sleet, D; Mohan, D; Hyder, AA. World report on road traffic injury prevention. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2004. Available: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/publications/road_traffic/world_report/en/. (accessed Jan 8, 2009).