Injury is a leading killer and disabler of children in Beijing(Beijing, 15 September 2004)– Injury is a leading cause of death and disability among children in Beijing, according to new research by the National Working Committee for Children and Women (NWCCW), Ministry of Health (MOH), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and The Alliance for Safe Children (TASC). The research was presented at a press conference in Beijing in September 15 was conducted among 28,084 households in 18 counties in metro Beijing in October 2003. The Beijing Injury Survey is part of regional child injury survey initiative conducted in 6 countries that helped to put this long neglected problem on the global agenda. Injury is the leading killer and disabler of children and parents in Beijing. In 2003, there were more than 50,000 children injured in Beijing to various degrees. That means 139 children were injured each day seriously enough to seek medical care, be hospitalized, disabled or killed. Depending on the age of the child, and the environment around the child, different age groups had different patterns of injury. Injury rates were lowest in infants but increased with age to peak in the 5-9 age group. The leading causes of fatal injury were road traffic accidents and drowning. Road traffic accidents were a leading cause of serious injury in children. The highest injury rate was among secondary school age children. Most of the children injured were pedestrians or bicyclists, not occupants of vehicles. The most common reason for being on the road was going to or coming from school. The most dangerous place for a child to be a pedestrian or bicyclist was on a rural road. Non-fatal injury is also a major problem. Permanent disability, of which injuries are the primary cause, has devastating emotional and financial consequences. The leading causes of non-fatal injury were falls, animal bites and road traffic accidents. It is estimated that in 2003, the direct and indirect costs of the five major child injuries (falls, Road Traffic Accdients, animal bites burns and poisoning) are as high as 150 million RBM. The survey also found home environments to be hazardous to children, full of risk factors, including unsafe storage of chemicals and poisons, unsafe exposures to hot liquids, unprotected stairways and dangerous heights, as well as community environments with open construction sites, heavy traffic and a scarcity of safe play areas. Additionally, the survey found that protective factors for injury such as drowning are very low. More than 80% of children between the ages of 3- 17 are not able to swim in Beijing. However, injury-related deaths and permanent disabilities are just as preventable as those caused by infectious diseases. In the industrialized world, the number of children who die from injuries has fallen by more than 50 per cent over the past 50 years. The reductions of deaths in these countries were not the natural outcome of economic development. It was a concerted, collective effort that began with recognition of the problem, followed by political commitment and policy changes. A long process of research, legislation, environmental modifications, public education and improvements in emergency services has saved millions of lives. The Alliance for Safe Children (TASC), a foundation dedicated to the cause of child injury prevention in developing countries, has partnered with UNICEF and Governments in these countries to conduct the surveys and prepare for the follow-up activities. “Three decades ago,” said Dr. Michael Linnan, the technical director of TASC, “a small number of infectious diseases were causing the majority of deaths among children. Once the international community realized this, we intervened with effective prevention such as immunization, oral rehydration and nutrition. The impact of those investments has been extraordinary. We must now invest in injury prevention which will certainly bring similar results.” “The survey marks the beginning of a major project to fully understand the impact of child injury in China, and help begin effective interventions to curtail these preventable injuries.” Mme Feng Yueju, the Deputy Director of Department Control of Ministry of Health noted “Child injury is an important public health issue which needs more attention and should be integrated into the government agenda. The cross-sectoral cooperation and international cooperation will help us to identify the problems and provide necessary information for decision making.” “The government acted on the result of the survey and plans to implement community based programs in Beijing in both urban and rural pilot areas. We will also develop a Beijing Plan of Action for child injury prevention with multi-sector collaboration, set targets for decreasing child injury in the next Beijing Plan of Action for Children (2006-2010), and promote and enforce relevant safety policy and regulations in the city of the Beijing " said Ms Rong Hua, the head of Beijing Women’s Federation and the Beijing Working Committee for Children and Women , the organization coordinating the project implemented by municiple government agencies from various sectors. “Beijing now has an opportunity to develop a municipal pilot program to test a variety of interventions to make homes, schools and community safer for children using simple, cost effective measures. We believe a safe childhood is every child right.” She added. Panelists at the press conference will include: Ms.Zhang Liming, the Deputy Director of the Office of National Working Committee on Children and Women (NWCCW)
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Mr. Andrew Claypole (English), Tel: (86-10) 65323131 Ms. Liu Li (Chinese & English), Tel: (86-10) 65323131 ext 1303 Fax: (86-10) 65323107
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