Child injuries

Child injuries are a global public health problem. According to WHO Global Burden of Disease data, in 2002, over 700 000 children under the age of 15 were killed by an injury. Injuries are the leading cause of death for children after their first birthday. There is also high morbidity associated with childhood injuries: for every injured child who dies, there are several thousand children who live on with varying degrees of disability. A large proportion of these injuries (for example, falls, burns, drowning) occur in either the home or in leisure environments.

• A global call to action
  WHO and UNICEF are scaling up their work in the area of child and adolescent injury prevention. This document calls on the international community to take action.

• Plan of action to prevent child and adolescent injuries
  WHO has developed a global plan of action which will guide its work in this area for the next 10 years.

• World report on child injury prevention
  The World report on child injury prevention brings together all we know about these injuries and how to prevent them.

• Child injury statistics

Related links

• WHO hosts historic meeting on child injuries
• International and regional child safety organizations
• Related WHO sites