Windhoek
The latest statistics from the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA) indicate that 422 people died in road accidents countrywide for the year to August 9.
MVA statistics for the year to date also reveal that there were 2 440 accidents on Namibia’s roads that caused injury to 4 192 people countrywide.
Last August alone, 82 people lost their lives in vehicle accidents across the country, while 13 people have died so far this month.
Senior manager at the MVA Fund Call Centre and Emergency Management, Sidney Boois said yesterday that road crashes continue to be a pandemic on wheels that needs the urgent attention of various sectors.
Boois, who was speaking at the opening of the country’s first ever National Conference on Emergency Medical Rescue Services, noted that the statistics indicate that road acidents present a significant burden on the country’s health system, both the state and private sector.
“The scarcity of resources is something that needs to be discussed,” Boois said, noting that the conference is timely, considering the number of accidents that continue to plague the country’s road networks.
The MVA Fund spends over N$2 million a year on medical treatment, Boois told New Era upon enquiry.
The World Health Organisation Country Representative, Professor Monir Islam, who spoke at the same occasion, said the country’s road accident figures are “too high to be acceptable.”
“Today’s conference addresses emergency medical rescue services. We must be open to current shortcomings and we must keep an open mind when working together to improve emergency medical rescue services,” said Islam.
Guidelines for the “removal of dead persons from the scene of an incident” were also launched at the same event.
Various stakeholders attending the conference, which ends on Friday, will consult extensively to reach consensus on the best practices and systems to provide uniform high-quality patient care.