Driving to an early grave

摘要

From the back of St Mary's Mission Hospital, two hours north of Nairobi, Kenya's capital, convalescent patients can watch flamingos frolic on Lake Elemen-taita. From the front, the view is less idyllic. Overloaded lorries race along the A104, a busy part of the Northern Corridor, east Africa's main trade route. Each month, says Robert Limo, a researcher at the hospital, at least two patients are readmitted, having been run over just minutes after being discharged while waiting for a bus. This stretch of road was upgraded in 2008 with funding from the European Union. But almost all the $91m went on asphalt and almost none on safety, so the road that was supposed to make everyone richer has brought grief, too. Cars and lorries now speed by at 130kph (80mph). The road has no provision for overtaking or protection for pedestrians and casualties inundate local hospitals, with two or three a week coming to St Mary's from a 5km stretch alone. The picture is repeated across Kenya as the country's roads are upgraded with little thought for safety. Road casualties now account for half of admissions on its surgical wards.