Childhood injuries: defining a global agenda for research and action

Globally, injuries (intentional and unintentional) are amongst the 10 leading causes of death and disease burden in the 0-4, 5-14, and 15-29 year age groups. Despite the magnitude of this burden, it is surprising to note the relative lack of global attention to childhood injuries in terms of both public policies and resource investments. This paper focuses on low and middle income countries, and explores reasons why the health and development sectors have traditionally ignored childhood injuries, and then proposes critical steps for promoting childhood injuries as a priority in global health. Childhood injuries have not fared well in the health sector due to a variety of reasons including lack of data, traditional perceptions towards injuries, hesitancy by the health sector, lack of champions, and inability to demonstrate solutions in settings that need them most. Child health in the developing world has not been receptive to injuries due to a lack of recognition of the impact of childhood injuries on mortality and morbidity, and a dominant focus on infectious diseases. Relevant information on childhood injuries needs to be generated, interventions critical for reducing the burden of such injuries require testing and implementation in low and middle income countries, and the social and economic benefits of addressing this health problem need to be clearly defined. While these measures are necessary for facing the challenge of childhood injuries, they are not sufficient. This will require the development of new partnerships and refocusing current efforts. The paper calls on the global health community to recognise the toll of childhood injuries and make innovative efforts to reduce that burden.