The World Health Organization (WHO), in a news release today (November 29), says more preventative measures need to be taken by countries to avoid injuries and violence that causes 1 in 12 deaths worldwide.

Director of the Department for Social Determinants of Health at WHO, Dr Etienne Krug said: “Accelerated action is needed to avoid the unnecessary suffering of millions of families every year.”

He further said: “We know what needs to be done and these effective measures must be brought to scale across countries and communities to save lives.”

According to a recent report from the WHO, three of the top five causes of death among people between the age of 5-29 years are injury related, such as road traffic injuries, homicide and suicide.

The Director-General of WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “The health sector has a major role in addressing these inequities and in preventing injuries and violence through collecting data, developing policies, providing services and programming for prevention and care, building capacities and advocating for greater attention to undeserved communities.”

The WHO says there are many low-cost interventions available, but in most countries, political will and investment are lacking when it comes to implementing sufficient preventative measures.

A few examples suggested by WHO were setting the default speed limit for cities in Spain to 30 kilometres per hour, which will improve road safety. Likewise, in Vietnam, providing swimming lessons will prevent drowning and, in the Philippines, legislation to raise the age of sexual consent from 12 years to 16 will protect minors from sexual violence.

According to the latest report from the Road Safety Unit, in the Ministry of Transport and Mining, Jamaica recorded at total of 385 deaths from road crashes as at November 4, 2022.

Similarly, the latest statistics from the Jamaica Constabulary Force reveal a total of 1,395 murders as at November 28.