Experts are warning of an escalating injury crisis in Ghana, with road crash injuries costing the country 8.2% of its GDP.

The Global Burden of Disease data reveal that more than 72 persons per 100,000 of the population are suffering serious bodily injury annually.

The burden covers road traffic accidents, workplace incidents, and domestic injuries.

Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Ambulance Service, Dr George Kwadwo Owusu, says the cost of road traffic injuries amounts to approximately $6.7 million each year.

This was revealed at a two-day conference in Kumasi organised by the KNUST Centre for Injury Prevention and Research at the College of Health Sciences in Kumasi.

Dr George Owusu described injuries as a silent epidemic that is ravaging the nation on a scale that has outpaced the response.

He noted that road traffic injuries remain the primary driver of injury cases.

He noted that more than 60% of road traffic fatalities occur among people under 35 years of age.

“There is a disease that exists called injury. It is ravaging our nation in ways we have been too slow to confront, and road traffic injuries remain the primary driver. More than 60% of road traffic fatalities strike people under 35 years of age; our workforce, our students, and our future."

He emphasised that an effective response requires not only emergency care but also stronger prevention strategies and improved data collection.

He called on the government to support researchers in translating their evidence into practical action to prevent injury before it escalates.

The conference was convened under the theme: “Nipping Ghana’s Injury Menace in the Bud — Harnessing Evidence from Local Research.”

Provost of the College of Health Sciences and Chairman of the Injury Conference, Professor Christian Agyare stressed that effective action requires prevention and early intervention at the source rather than management, coping, or reactive measures.
He framed this as addressing the problem before the consequences of tragedy fully develop.

"Nipping in the bud is not managing, coping, reacting, but preventing and intervening at the root, before the flower of tragedy fully blooms", he said

Professor Agyare further stated that injuries impose a severe burden across the nation, within communities, and among families, and that they claim the lives of young people, leave productive citizens disabled, and place additional strain on a national budget already facing fiscal constraints.

"Injuries are not freak events. They are predictable and preventable. Yet across our nation, communities, and families, they continue to exact a devastating toll by claiming young lives, disabling productive citizens, and straining a national budget already under pressure", Professor Agyare stated

The Provost of the College of Health Sciences identified road traffic crashes, drowning, burns, falls, and workplace injuries as a combined public health emergency that calls for a unified and sustained national response.

The event brought together researchers, policymakers, healthcare professionals, and emergency responders to examine evidence-based approaches to injury prevention and control in Ghana.