Injuries, violence cause 12000 deaths worldwide each day: WHO

Injuries and violence claim the lives of around 12,000 people around the world every day. As reflected in a new report from the World Health Organization, Injury and Violence Prevention: An Overview, 3 of the top 5 causes of death among people aged 5-29 are related to injuries, namely, injuries from traffic accidents, homicide and suicide.

12000 deaths each day

According to this document, 3 of the 5 main causes of death, among people whose age range is between 5 and 29 years, are related to injuries. This is injuries from traffic accidents, homicides and suicides.

The study also explains that deaths related to injuries are drowning, falls, burns and poisoning, among other causes.

According to the World Health Organization, it was possible to establish that of the 4.4 million annual deaths related to injuries, approximately 1 out of 3 occurs due to traffic accidents, 1 out of 6 due to suicides, 1 out of every 9 for homicides and 1 in 61 for various wars and conflicts that take place in the world.

In addition to these, injury-related killers include drowning, falls, burns, and poisoning, among others, of the 4.4 million injury-related deaths each year, about 1 in 3 of these deaths are due to traffic accidents, 1 in 6 to suicide, 1 in 9 to homicide, and 1 in 61 to war and conflict.

“People living in poverty are much more likely to be injured than the rich,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “The health sector has an important role in addressing these health inequalities and in preventing injury and violence through data collection, policy development, service delivery, and programming for prevention and care, the development of capacities and the promotion of greater attention to the underserved communities”.

Unnecessary suffering

Many effective and low-cost interventions are available. For example, in Spain, setting the default speed limit for cities at 30 kilometres per hour is improving road safety; in Viet Nam, providing swimming training is preventing drowning; and in the Philippines, legislation to raise the age of sexual consent from 12 to 16, in an attempt to protect minors from sexual violence, is bringing positive change. However, in most countries, there is a lack of political will and investment, as the measures are not applied at sufficient levels.

“Accelerated action is needed to prevent this unnecessary suffering for millions of families each year,” says Dr. Etienne Krug, Director of WHO's Department of Social Determinants of Health. “We know what must be done, and these effective measures must be scaled up in all countries and communities to save lives.”

The WHO report is released during the 14th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, currently taking place in Adelaide, Australia. This event provides an opportunity for the world's leading injury and violence prevention researchers and practitioners to continue advocating for evidence-based measures to prevent injury and violence.

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