LAUNCH OF WORLD

REPORT ON CHILD
INJURY
PREVENTION
Remarks by Dr. Sharad Sapra
UNICEF Representative in Uganda
(Delivered by Chulho Hyun, Chief of Communication, UNICEF Uganda)

Fairway Hotel, Kampala

Friday, 11 December 2009
 The Convention on the Rights of the Child 20th Anniversary

Guest of Honor.
Representatives of Government, ICC-U, Mulago Hospital and partner agencies in your
respective capacities.
Colleagues from the United Nations system.
Distinguished Guests.
Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is an honor and pleasure to join you this afternoon. I am representing Dr. Sharad Sapra, the
UNICEF Representative in Uganda, currently conducting duties at another function, who has
asked me to extend to you his warmest greetings.

Let me begin by congratulating the Government of Uganda and the Injury Control Center-
Uganda, in particular, for successfully organizing the country launch of the World Report on
Child Injury Prevention, supported by WHO and UNICEF. This is an important report, the first of
its kind which, together with the UN Secretary-General’s 2006 Study on Violence Against
Children, suggests that child injury and violence prevention is a neglected public health issue
requiring urgent attention.

Guest of Honor. Ladies and Gentlemen.

We have an important opportunity today to reaffirm our collective resolve to keep every child in
Uganda… alive, safe, and learning.

The ICC-U says that child injuries make up for nearly a third of all injuries seen in hospitals in
the country, most of them unintentional, accidental and preventable. Police statistics about
Uganda losing some 400 children a year to road traffic accidents are equally sober and
alarming. Between January and September this year, traffic accidents the claimed the lives of
340 children and wounded 1,155. This suggests that before the next week is out, an average of
9 young lives will have been lost on the road.

With over 50 percent of all child injuries in Uganda happening in the home, followed by on the
road and in schools, it is abundantly clear that there is a vital need to boost the capacity at the
community level to prevent and respond to childhood injuries. Here, I am referring to the
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 The Convention on the Rights of the Child 20th Anniversary
capacity of both statutory protection services and community-based structures to identify,
support, refer, follow up and report on child injuries – within the spectrum of child protection
concerns. And I would urge that the strengthening of such capacities involve the meaningful
participation of children: It is when the young are able to share their views and opinions about
their future – and when those views and opinions are taken into account while designing policies
and programs – that positive changes are possible.

Guest of Honor. Ladies and Gentlemen.

While the primary focus of this report is on child injuries arising from situations like traffic
accidents, falls, burns and drowning, I would ask that we also remember equally serious issues
such as children involved in hazardous child labor, children working and living on the streets,
and children associated with fighting forces – such as those children associated at this moment
with the Lord’s Resistance Army.

We must be resolute and decisive in our dedication to protect children in all types of dangerous
situations – be it the hazard a child faces each time he or she wants to cross the street… or the
long-term effects of domestic violence and abuse. We know that violence begets violence. We
know that violence and abuse, in the home, schools and elsewhere, can lead to injury and death
not only at infancy, but all through childhood. So… let us be more vigilant in teaching our
children about avoiding injuries. And let us reaffirm the need to foster a protective environment
for Uganda’s children, to protect them against abuse in the same way that a primary healthcare
system protects them against disease. The children deserve as much. They are this nation’s
most precious resource.

In this regard, UNICEF applauds the ICC-U’s recommendation to integrate ‘child injury’ into a
comprehensive approach to child health and development, toward developing a child injury
policy and action plan, strengthening health systems to address child injuries, enhancing the
quality of data and research for child injury prevention, and raising greater public awareness.

Again, I go back to the basics: The need to keep children… alive, safe and learning.

Guest of Honor. Ladies and Gentlemen.

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 The Convention on the Rights of the Child 20th Anniversary
The World Report on Child Injury Prevention is intrinsically linked to the milestone UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child, also ratified by the Government of Uganda. The CRC
states that children have the right to a safe environment and to protection from harm, injury,
abuse and violence. This means all children have the right to develop to their full potential – all
children, in all situations, all of the time, everyone.

It is a promise we have made to the children of this country. It is a promise we must not break.

Thank you for your attention, and the opportunity to deliver these remarks.

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