Traffic kills most young workers
April 27th, 2010
Every day, 500 children die due to traffic incidents, and it is the leading cause of death at age 15 to 29, the bulk of young workers.
A June 2009 report by the World Health Organisation counted 1.3 million deaths per year attributable to the cause, and 20 to 50 million injuries. In 1998, more African children died from traffic than AIDS.
Recently, 90 member states of the United Nations co-sponsored the Decade of Action for Road Safety, 2011 to 2020. A UN Resolution commits those nations to boosting road safety education and supporting increased use of seatbelts, child restraints, and helmets.
These governments, plus an array of businesses and organisations like Red Cross and Red Crescent, have formed the Global Road Safety Partnership, joining the World Health Organisation, World Bank, Michelin, and others. TV show Sesame Street president and CEO, Gary Knell, labels traffic safety a worldwide crisis, reports Enquirer.com
Sesame Street will lend its brand to developing countries to reduce the number of traffic incidents and impact severity. The project will include “targeted content and materials”. The mascot Elmo is part of the plan.
Sesame Street has tackled numerous issues throughout the years, from getting positive representations of minorities on American children’s television in the 1970s, to trying to forge understandings between the next generation of Middle Easterners.
At home in SA, projects have focused on healthy lifestyles, emergency preparedness, environmentalism, dealing with permanent injury or death of a loved one, lead paint, and other Sheq issues. Around the world, Sesame Workshop has been lauded for local focuses on issues life quality issues like HIV.
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