India Unveils Urgent Roadmap for Child Road Safety as Fatalities Soar

UNICEF and WHO's NIMHANS center release a roadmap focusing on reducing child road fatalities in India, where road traffic injuries are the top cause of death among minors. The report highlights the alarming rise in fatalities, identifies risk factors, and suggests a multi-sectoral action plan to enhance safety.

A groundbreaking roadmap aimed at tackling child road safety has been unveiled in India by UNICEF, collaborating with the WHO Collaborating Centre for Injury Prevention and Safety at NIMHANS. The report underscores the critical status of road traffic injuries as the leading killer of children and adolescents in the country, accounting for 10 percent of all road fatality cases.

During the report's launch, Gautham Melur Sukumar of NIMHANS highlighted the dire statistics, with nearly 45 children dying daily in road crashes in 2022 alone. Vivek Singh from UNICEF India stressed the vulnerability of children to devastating injuries, emphasizing the need for immediate measures for safer mobility. The roadmap analyzes data and recommends multi-sectoral approaches to bolster safety measures for the young.

The analysis reveals worrying trends, with over 198,236 child and adolescent fatalities from 2011 to 2022, predominantly within the 14-17 age group. Challenges cited in the report include inadequate helmet and Child Restraint Systems (CRS) usage, socio-economic influences on road safety, and critical gaps in intensive care resources for injured children. Experts call for improved trauma care infrastructure and institutional reforms to address these urgent needs.

(With inputs from agencies.)