The New Nation - Internet Edition

ACCORDING to an estimate, about 30 thousand children aged below seventeen die of different injury-related cases every year in the country. Another 13 thousand children survive with permanent disabilities. Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) disclosed this at a seminar on 'Save Lives, Prevent Injury' organised on the occasion of the Safety Week - 2008. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 5.8 million children die of injuries in the world annually. This shows a death rate of 97 per lakh. Statistics show that death rate among the male children is higher than that among female children.

A study conducted by the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey pointed out that child injuries have posed a more serious threat to child health than infection and nutritional causes, though a steady decline in the infant mortality rate and under-five mortality rate was observed. Drowning, burns, falls, road accidents, poisoning, cuts, animal bites, stings and internal haemorrhage are some of the important causes of death of children. Drowning is the major cause. Deaths from drowning have increased to 57 percent in 2003 from nine percent in 1983. Frequent floods for longer periods of time are the likely causes of the increasing rates of drowning. Most of the children living in cities and towns do not know how to swim.

Mass awareness can play an important role in bringing down injury rates. Swimming training should be introduced for children who should also be taught the ways of avoiding road accidents. Grown up people should be more responsible toward children. CIPRB, in co-operation with UNICEF, is reportedly implementing a project in three upazilas of the country with the aim of reducing the child injury rate to a satisfactory level. Their experiences should be shared to reduce child injury in other areas of the country.