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Injuries, Violence Claim About 12,000 Lives Each Day Worldwide: WHO

Injuries, Violence Claim About 12,000 Lives Each Day Worldwide: WHO

Road traffic clashes, homicide and suicide are identified as top three injury related killers. Some effective measures to prevent injuries and violence.

Written by Longjam Dineshwori |Updated : November 30, 2022 1:38 PM IST

The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the need for scaling up efforts for prevention of injury related deaths, which account for 1 in 12 deaths worldwide. In a new report titled "Preventing injuries and violence: an overview", the organisation said that injuries and violence cause about 12, 000 deaths around the world each day.

Road traffic injuries, homicide and suicide were listed among the top 5 causes of death among people aged 5-29 years. Other injury related killers include drowning, falls, burns and poisoning.

The report estimated 4.4 million injury related deaths every year worldwide, with roughly 1 in 3 of these deaths resulting from road traffic crashes, 1 in 6 from suicide, 1 in 9 from homicide and 1 in 61 from war and conflict.

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Some effective measures to prevent injury related deaths

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pointed out that poor people are significantly more likely to suffer an injury than wealthy people.

He said that the health sector can play a major role in addressing these inequities as well as in preventing injuries and violence. by collecting data, developing policies, providing services and programming for prevention and care, building capacities, and advocating for greater attention to underserved communities.

The report mentioned some effective and low-cost interventions taken by various countries for prevention of injuries and violence. For example,

  • Spain has fixed the default speed limit at 30 kilometres per hour in cities to improve road safety.
  • Viet Nam is providing swimming training to prevent drowning.
  • To protect minors from sexual violence, Philippines has raised the age of sexual consent from 12 years to 16.

Dr Etienne Krug, Director of the Department for the Social Determinants of Health, WHO, called for accelerated action to avoid "this unnecessary suffering of millions of families every year."

He noted that effective measures must be employed across countries and communities to save lives.

The WHO report was released during the ongoing 14th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion in Adelaide, Australia.