Bloody Trillion

About I trillion cedis, representing two per cent of Ghana Gross Domestic Product, is expended on the problems arising out of road related accidents annually.

The Minister of Transportation, Dr Richard Anane, who revealed this, did not give the breakdown for the expenditure but indicated that the chunk of the amount went into the consequences relating to human injuries.

He added that domestic, industrial; mining, farm and institutional accidents went to compound the financial expenditure on accidents on the country.

Dr Anane stated this at the opening of a multi sectored training course on injury control and management in Kumasi yesterday.

The four- day course, organised by the Harbourview Injury Prevention and Research Centre, Seattle in the United States of America, in collaboration with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, is being attended by representatives from the police, the health and transport sectors, among others.

It is intended to improve injury control and management and also increase collaborative orientation in the multi sectored approach to injury prevention and trauma care.

Dr Anane further revealed that the research has shown that about six per cent of families in the country sold their personal belongings to be able to cater for members involved in accidents, while 41 per cent of Ghanaians borrowed money to be able to treat family members involved in accidents.

According to the minister, the average Ghanaian who had been involved in an accident also spent about 550,000 cedis on the treatment of injuries sustained, stressing that “majority of families have had their house hold incomes decline as a result of injuries sustained through forms of accidents in the country”.