Speaking at the opening of a two-day virtual media capacity building training on Monday, RAPNEC president, Prince Ache Julius Ogu, said the media has a big role to play in road accident prevention.

Under the theme: Role of the media in accelerating the domestication and implementation of the UN decade of action on road safety 2021-2030,' the aim is to reduce the road crashed by 50 percent come 2030.

President of Society for Prevention and Injuries Punishment, Professor Rakesh Gorea, said the journalists can utilize various social media platforms to disseminate messages on road safety management and safer vehicles among others.

Nathalie Chiavassa, safer journeys lead for Africa for International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) a UN affiliate, indicated that they are partnering with various stakeholders including the media to employ strategies which would ensure that road accidents are halved.

According to World Health Organization (WHO),  1.3 million people die while 20-50 million get injured through road accidents annually.

In 2022, iRAP estimated that road accidents were causing deaths and life-changing injuries to around 62, 000 lives in Malawi annually, with a direct financial cost of US$404 million.