An educational programme on preventing accidental childhood injury will kick off in Shanghai next year to draw public attention to child safety, local health officials said Tuesday.
Accidental injury prevention has been included for the first time in the city's education plan through the joint efforts of the local health bureau, the Shanghai Association of Scientific Childbearing and the Child Healthcare Institute.
The programme, supported by SAFE KIDS Worldwide, will first be carried out in the city's 180 nurseries and kindergartens and then will extend to all children's educational organizations.
About 26.1 percent of childhood deaths in China are due to accidental injury, a leading factor threatening children's lives.
Statistics from the Shanghai Health Bureau show that out of every 100,000 children, about 3.45 die of drowning and another 1.93 lose their lives in traffic accidents.
According to research by the Fudan University Paediatric Hospital, drowning, traffic accidents, poisoning (through gas, food and medicines), falling and suffocation are the main types of dangerous occurrences in China.
Most unintended injuries occur at home, in schools, on sports fields and on the roads.
Due to geographic and weather conditions, drowning is the greatest danger in South China, while in North China it is suffocation.
In Western countries, traffic accidents are the leading cause of unintentional injuries to children, accounting for about 50 percent.
In China "the rate is rising rapidly with the popularization of family cars," said Professor Zhang Ling'en, vice-chairman of the Pediatric Division of the Chinese Emergency Medicine Society.
About 52 percent of accidental injuries happen in a family setting, so it is seen as crucial to raise parents' awareness of the importance of keeping children in a safe environment.
(China Daily December 25, 2002)
