Ghana’s quest to attain the Sustainable Development Goal 3.6 looks bleak as many injuries and deaths keep occurring. Goal 3.6 of the United Nations SDGs advocates for half the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by the year 2020.
However, about 230 million dollars is spent yearly on treating fractures and injuries in Ghana due to road crashes. With barely a year left for the country to achieve the set goal, Ghana records over 5,000 reported fractures yearly.
Program Manager of Non Communicable Diseases of the Ghana Health Services, Dr. Dennis Laryea has therefore called on the media to step up their advocacy role in ensuring that road users comply with road safety measures.
“Goal 3.6, we have to achieve it by 2020 and 2020 is next year and we are nowhere near achieving it, so we need to do much more and I think that the media have a role to play. We need to educate people on wearing of helmets and obeying the traffic regulations.”
Dr. Laryea said this in an interview with A1 News at the end of a 3 day workshop held in Kumasi for about 40 journalists on how to report on trauma and orthopaedic cases in the country.
The training was organized by AO Alliance in collaboration with Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons.
A representative of AO Alliance, Dr. Labi Addo having observed that the media for the past years played a little role in educating the public on injuries, urged them to intensify their advocacy role towards a reduction of trauma and fracture related cases in the country.
“We expect the media now, to highlight issues of injury in their various reportage, print radio and TV just like they do the politics every day, regularly, not once in a blue moon.”Dr. Labi Addo stated.
Source:A1radioonline.com | 101.1Mhz | Joshua Asaah