WHO’s Executive Board adopts resolution on child injury prevention

During its 128th Session, the World Health Organization’s Executive Board discussed a draft resolution on child injury prevention.

Member States expressed strong support for the resolution, and the inclusion of child injury prevention within the child survival agenda. There were many strong statements of support from members of the Executive Board. Included amongst these were statements from China and the United States, which both made reference to the fact that it will be difficult to achieve Millennium Development Goal 4 to reduce child mortality in some countries without addressing child injury. Seychelles, speaking on behalf of the countries of the WHO African Region, added that investments and efforts made in immunization programmes and other infectious disease programming stand to be undone if children are to die a few short years later from injury. These three statements are illustrative only; globally the entire discussion was very supportive.

Following a number of proposed amendments – many of which either directly strengthened the resolution or made it more comprehensive – the resolution was adopted by the Executive Board on 24 January 2011. The resolution will now pass to the next session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May 2011 with the recommendation that it be adopted by the WHA.

The resolution may be further amended during the WHA, but currently calls for Member States to: prioritize the prevention of child injury and ensure necessary intersectoral coordination mechanisms are established or strengthened; ensure funding mechanisms for public health programmes for child survival or child health cover child injury prevention; and implement as appropriate the recommendations of the WHO/UNICEF World report on child injury prevention, among others. The resolution also requests the Director-General of the World Health Organization to: collaborate with United Nations organizations, international development partners and NGOs to establish a mechanism for communication and coordination of child injury; facilitate the adaptation of child injury prevention interventions from developed to developing settings; and support capacity building, data collection, and emergency care within Member States, among other initiatives.

For further information, please contact Dr David Meddings (meddingsd@who.int).