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Kenya

Emergency services to curb road carnage

ACCIDENT-HORIZON-BUSNAIROBI, Kenya, June 22- The government plans to partner with all disaster response and emergency institutions to reduce road carnage by 20 percent this year.

Deputy President William Ruto said this will be mainly through offering training to drivers and conductors and all those charged with public transport on traffic rules and regulations and management of emergency situations.

“We need to begin walking the road of saving more lives, minimising accidents by making sure that those charged with the public sector understand the regulations and are able to manage emergency cases,” Ruto said.

He was speaking on Sunday when he presided over the Annual Inspection Parade of St. John Ambulance in Nairobi. The celebrations also seek to recognise humanitarian services of aid workers around the country.

Statistics released by Transport Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau last month showed that 1,032 passengers were killed in road accidents since January this year.

Close to 580 pedestrians also died in the same period, while motor cyclists deaths increased by 1.5 percent.

However Ruto believes with collaborative efforts from all stakeholders, these numbers can be reduced.

“ We want to partner with emergency response institutions like St. John, the Kenya Red Cross and others and see how we can work together. This is achievable if we also have the spirit of volunteering on issues of responding to emergencies,” he said.

The government has already set aside Sh50 million to St John Ambulance which will be used to purchase necessary equipments for emergency response and training.

Last year President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the Health Ministry to work hand in hand with St John Ambulance so as to leverage on the latter’s experienced personnel and equipment in disaster and emergency response times.

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Meanwhile, the organisation has already rolled out a maternal care project in remote and conflict areas in the country aimed at complementing government’s efforts in provision of maternal health care especially in rural areas.

“We believe that progressively more and more women will access the required maternal health care they deserve,” Health Cabinet Secretary Dr. James Macharia said.

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