Ghana News Agency Senior Editor Dasmani Issifu Laary has won the road safety category of the Ghana Journalism Association’s annual national journalism awards, becoming the second WHO-trained journalist in the country to receive this recognition. His investigative report, Deadly Highways: Fixing Ghana’s Silent Epidemic, highlights the systemic causes of road deaths and serious injuries in Ghana, examines current road safety reforms, and presents life-saving practices from other African nations that could be adopted locally.
Road fatalities are rising sharply in Africa, with nearly 250,000 lives lost in 2021, despite the continent accounting for only 3% of registered vehicles globally. In Ghana alone, road deaths increased by 65% between 2016 and 2021. Laary’s report emphasizes that road fatalities are a “devastating reality” and explores critical measures such as speed reduction, improved road infrastructure, law enforcement, vehicle and motorcycle helmet standards, government coordination, and pedestrian protection. His work has sparked national debate, prompting government review of laws and increased involvement of state agencies in road design.
The report references successful interventions in other African countries, including mandatory GPS tracking for public and commercial vehicles in Uganda and strict enforcement measures in South Africa. Experts cited in the investigation advocate for a holistic ‘safe systems’ approach, which focuses on reducing the kinetic energy transferred to human bodies in crashes. This approach aligns with the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety, which provides guidance for governments to halve road deaths and injuries worldwide by 2030.
WHO has praised the role of journalists in advocating for evidence-based policies and solutions that save lives. Dasmani Issifu Laary follows Jonathan Donkor, who won a similar award in 2023 for reporting on the impact of used tyres on road crashes. WHO-trained journalists in countries including India, Nigeria, and Viet Nam have also received national and international recognition for road safety reporting.
The WHO Road Safety Reporting initiative, part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety, equips journalists to investigate the causes and solutions to road crashes, which remain the leading global cause of death for children and youth aged 5–29. Laary expressed gratitude for the training, noting that he aims to use the award to advance road safety reforms in Ghana. His report concludes with a call to action: every road user deserves a safe journey, and systemic changes are needed to address the country’s “silent epidemic” of road fatalities.
