SDGs 'Zero Hunger' Objective and Road Fatality in sub-Saharan Africa

This study estimates the effects of road-mortality shocks on hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa using a panel of 35 countries over the period 2000–2021. The analysis concentrates on road mortality among economically active individuals aged 15–69. To evaluate the sensitivity of the results, we consider—besides the Global Hunger Index (GHI)—its sub-indicators: child stunting, child wasting, child mortality, and the undernourishment rate. The empirical framework is based on a panel distributed-lag autoregressive (ARDL) model. After implementing the Pool Mean Group (PMG) estimator, the results show that road mortality in both age groups—15–49 and 50–69—significantly increases hunger in both the short and the long run. In addition, for each age group, road mortality has a statistically significant and positive effect on the share of undernourished people, the prevalence of wasting among children under five, the prevalence of stunting among children under five, and the under-five mortality rate in both time horizons. Overall, the estimated long-run effects of road mortality on hunger are larger in magnitude than the short-run effects. Accordingly, to support the Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating hunger, policymakers should combine short-run road-safety measures aimed at preventing road deaths with long-run programs designed to reduce and mitigate road-mortality risks.