Making cities safer for children: Addressing unintentional injuries
Author(s): Sheridan Bartlett
Every year, almost a million children and adolescents globally are killed by unintentional injuries – and urban children in informal settlements and slums are at especially high risk. In this brief, we explore the extent of the problem for poor urban children and why the scarcity of reliable data means that the incidence of injury is under recognised. We discuss the types and patterns of injury and the hazards and risk factors for girls and boys of different ages in different settings. We consider implications for action, including the need for greater awareness that most injuries are preventable, and why effective responses must be locally relevant, using local situation analyses and risk assessments involving local residents. Finally, we explore the valuable role of child-focused NGOs in raising awareness of the issue at all levels and encouraging processes to address it.
The Research Series
The Research Series: Cities for Children and Youth is published by the Global Alliance – Cities4Children. This series includes publications reflecting on a range of issues faced by urban children and youth and shed light on promising initiatives and practices for sustained change. The series aims to inspire action, add to knowledge, improve program/project design and advocate for children’s and young people’s rights in the urban agenda. It is aimed at practitioners, policy makers, government officials, researchers and advocates for better cities for children and youth and will include a range of publications:
- Evidence to action briefs: These are short research summaries about different topics that are important to address when thinking about child rights and the well-being of children and young people in urban contexts.
- Case studies of success from different urban contexts to inspire change and action
- Country/city reports about the situation of children in urban areas
- Practical tools to work with children and young people to encourage their participation, better understand their needs and support their contributions in the urban context.
- If you would like to contribute to this series please contact us here.
