31 Killed, 18 Injured in Bus Accident in the D.R.C.

Road injuries are one of the top-ten leading causes of death in the D.R.C. (Flickr)

A bus accident in the Democratic Republic of the Congo killed at least 31 civilians and injured 18 others on October 19, according to Al Jazeera. The bus was bound for Kinshasa, the capital, and crashed due to brake failure, erupting into flames along the highway.

The driver lost control of the  vehicle in the western part of Mbanza- Ngungu city on Highway 1, according  to Anadolu Agency. The bus was carrying fuel, which worsened the explosion, threatening the lives of the 100 passengers on board, according to CNN. After the fatal crash, D.R.C. President Félix Tshisekedi canceled his trip to Japan to focus his attention on the incident. On October 20, he visited the site of the accident and those recovering in the hospital, Reuters reports.

This kind of incident is not a surprise to the Congolese. Bus-related accidents are common in the country. The New York Times reported a similar crash on October 6 that killed 50 and injured 100 passengers. In 2013, the  World Health Organization (WHO) measured the fatality rate in road accidents in the D.R.C. at about 21 percent, about three percent higher than the global average. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognized road injuries as one of the top ten leading causes of death in the D.R.C., along with stroke, HIV, and malaria. From 2007 to 2017, these fatalities have risen 12 percent, said the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. This rise in road injury deaths represents one of the greatest increases in death rates around the world, almost doubling the rise of diarrheal disease and neonatal disorders. Road injuries are also the seventh-greatest cause of premature death in the D.R.C., with rates significantly higher than other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. 

These accidents are primarily due to poor road standards, overcrowded public transportation, and conflict, according to World Nomads, a travel insurance agency. Vivien Foster and Daniel Alberto Benitez, authors who have written extensively on the D.R.C., said, “The Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.) faces possibly the most daunting infrastructure challenge on the African continent.”

In response, international organizations have launched projects to repair and build safer and more effective infrastructure, according to the World Bank and the WHO. Many are calling for the government of the D.R.C. to address the fatalities as a  public health issue and take political action. In response to these issues, the United Nations developed the Decade of Action for Road Safety to raise international standards in the years 2011-2020.

As the country focuses on its internal groundwork, it has continued to emphasize individual safety on national roads. The program coordinator for the World Bank Global Road Safety Facility said, “It is crucial to strengthen the effectiveness of road safety lead agencies across the continent. And these efforts need to be integrated into the wider African road safety agenda to achieve greater and sustainable impact.”