Red Cross road deaths article based on old, faulty data

An article published on the website of Britain’s Guardian newspaper has suggested that road accidents will be the biggest killer of children between the ages of five and 15 in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015, outstripping malaria and HIV.

The article, written by Alasan Senghore, director of the Africa Zone at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, argues that compulsory first aid training for new drivers would dramatically cut deaths.

"Road accidents are predicted to become the biggest killer of children between the ages of five and 15 in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015, outstripping malaria and HIV," writes Senghore, citing a 2013 World Bank Report.

We fact-checked the claim in September last year. As we discovered then, the projections are based on old, faulty data.