The World Health Assembly adopted its first ever resolution on child injury prevention on May 24, 2011. The resolution, spurred by the WHO/UNICEF World Report on Child Injury Prevention, calls for member countries to support action on preventing child injuries, the leading cause of death for children worldwide over the age of 5 years.

More than 830,000 children die each year from road traffic crashes, drowning, burns, falls and poisoning, the news release notes.

The resolution urges member states to prioritize the prevention of child injuries, implement the recommendations of the World Report on Child Injury Prevention, and develop and put into practice a multisectoral policy and plan of action with realistic targets. It calls upon the WHO Director-General to collaborate with member states in establishing science-based policies to prevent child injury; to encourage research, build capacity, and mobilize resources for child injury prevention; and to continue providing technical support to countries to develop and implement child injury prevention measures and strengthen emergency and rehabilitation services.

The resolution also calls upon the WHO Director-General to establish a network with organizations of the United Nations system, international development partners and nongovernmental organizations to ensure effective coordination and implementation of activities for child injury prevention.

The news release says the adoption of this resolution by the World Health Assembly is a landmark accomplishment, as it firmly frames child injury as a major child survival issue and highlights the need to expand child survival programming and financing streams to include child injury prevention.

To read the World Report on Child Injury Prevention, visit the WHO website.