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

SDGs 'Zero Hunger' Objective and Road Fatality in sub-Saharan Africa | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article SDGs 'Zero Hunger' Objective and Road Fatality in sub-Saharan Africa Jules Médard NANA DJOMO, Heleine Nguimatsia Ngueuna, David Arsène Temching Sonkeng Etame This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9161031/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract 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. Hunger road fatality economically active populations sub-Saharan Africa Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 23 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 19 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 19 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 18 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9161031","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":610483635,"identity":"ab9d4a69-3904-48ca-984d-feefea45000e","order_by":0,"name":"Jules Médard NANA DJOMO","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAyUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxoaEBCBlw8PPwMAGEuAnVkuajGQDRAuQJghAOhgO2xgcIFYLc3vCw0c3KtJ4jG8kP3vwoYJBwpyQHsaeB8nGOWdseMxupJkbzjjDICFzgJCWGQlp0rltaUAtCWbSvG0MdRKEHAbVcpjHeEb6N5AWCeK1GEjkmBGpBeKXNB6JM2/KJGeckSCsxbA9J/FxToWNPX97+jaJDxU2RGhp4EmAsATANEENDAzyDOwHICz+A4RVj4JRMApGwcgEAE7FPK0WYTxzAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"University of Yaoundé II","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jules","middleName":"Médard NANA","lastName":"DJOMO","suffix":""},{"id":610483645,"identity":"7915c662-f435-4b42-a258-7d0f6d41f0f6","order_by":1,"name":"Heleine Nguimatsia Ngueuna","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Dschang","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Heleine","middleName":"Nguimatsia","lastName":"Ngueuna","suffix":""},{"id":610483648,"identity":"bfd2fb82-02f5-4927-aaa4-5ff2953883ee","order_by":2,"name":"David Arsène Temching Sonkeng Etame","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Yaoundé II","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"David","middleName":"Arsène Temching Sonkeng","lastName":"Etame","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-18 15:23:44","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9161031/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9161031/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106793592,"identity":"fc683dd0-73ae-48ef-bdf6-20664935a6f6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-13 13:42:43","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1355412,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"RevisedManuscriptNov2024.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9161031/v1_covered_f07a28d6-c050-4e5a-b84a-ee5eae45f3cd.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"SDGs 'Zero Hunger' Objective and Road Fatality in sub-Saharan Africa","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":false,"email":"","identity":"sn-business-and-economics","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"43546","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/43546/3","title":"SN Business \u0026 Economics","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"VoR Journals","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Hunger, road fatality, economically active populations, sub-Saharan Africa","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9161031/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9161031/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study estimates the effects of road-mortality shocks on hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa using a panel of 35 countries over the period 2000\u0026ndash;2021. The analysis concentrates on road mortality among economically active individuals aged 15\u0026ndash;69. To evaluate the sensitivity of the results, we consider\u0026mdash;besides the Global Hunger Index (GHI)\u0026mdash;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\u0026mdash;15\u0026ndash;49 and 50\u0026ndash;69\u0026mdash;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. 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