Road Traffic Injuries in Cameroon Essay -- Transportation, Social Issu

It is estimated that almost 16 000 people die every day from all types of injuries throughout the world (1). Injuries account for 12% of the global burden of disease. They are the third most important cause of overall mortality and the leading cause of death among 1–40-year-olds (2). Road traffic accidents (RTA) are responsible for the highest number of injuries worldwide. According to data published by the World Health Organization (WHO) road traffic injuries account for around 25% of all injury related deaths (1). The report portrayed road transport crashes as a leading cause of injury related morbidity and mortality the world over. The World Bank and WHO estimates reveal that about 1.2 million people die each year and as many as 50 million sustain injuries as a result of road transport accidents. This represents about 25% of all injury related deaths worldwide. Developing countries account for up to 85% of all road traffic deaths world wide; 90% of global disability adjuste d life years lost (DALY); and 96% of global traffic related child mortality. Most of these victims are the poor masses that commute as passengers in public transport vehicles, cyclist or pedestrians and users of vans, coaches and minibuses (1, 3, and 4). The actually numbers of road deaths are unknown. This is as a result of variations and limitations in RTI data collection; analysis, differences in interpretation and underreporting. Road traffic related deaths account for over 50% of deaths are among young adults in the age range of 15–44 years (5); and are the second leading cause of death among children aged 5–14 years, and young people aged 15–29 years worldwide. It is projected that without a major improvement on prevention strategies and policies, ... ... healers. The bulk of non-profit facilities are operated by the Catholic and Protestant Health Services: the former operate 179 facilities (including 8 hospitals) with a staff of 1,315 and the latter122 health facilities (including 24 hospitals) with a staff of 2,633 (World Bank op cit); there were roughly 200 for-profit clinics (Deschamps, 1996; p. 2) and a few thousand traditional healers (Lantum, 1996; personal communication). The plethora of health care providers and institutions means a wide variety of sources making it difficult to identify all cases of road traffic related injury reported or treated. Some victims of RTI injuries may not show up in hospitals or report to the police as they may prefer to seek alternative treatment and as Dixey (1999) argues the health help seeking behavior of a people maybe informed by the believe of disease and causation.