BENGALURU: Every day more than 2,000 families grieve the loss of a child to an accident that could have been prevented. The grief that these mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents and friends bear is immeasurable and often impacts communities at large.
According to a data from the Bengaluru Injury Surveillance Programme, 5,509 children were admitted with injuries, out of which 209 of them succumbed to the injuries. Male patients were thrice in number to female patients. Majority of these children belonged to average socio-economic groups and were school-going students. Worldwide, accidents kill more than 2,000 children per day and 75-90 per cent of these accidents could have been avoided through better awareness and prevention. In Bengaluru, every 36 hours a child succumbs to an injury-related problem.
Once children reach the age of five, unintentional injuries are the biggest threat to their survival. Sometimes, these injuries also lead to disabilities, which can have lasting effects on the child’s life. Children live in a world that is designed for adults. Because their body contours and behaviour is different, they are more prone to getting injured. Child injuries have been neglected for many years, and are absent from child survival initiatives locally and globally.
The author is a consultant, paediatrics and paediatric intensive care, Aster CMI Hospital
