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World Health Organization Says World Must Step Up Violence Prevention
August 14, 2007
Countries around the world
need to scale-up domestic violence prevention and make a concerted effort to
measure violence-related deaths, injuries and health conditions, according to
the World Health Organization (WHO). In Third Milestones of a Global
Campaign for Violence Prevention Report 2007, the agency reviews progress
since the 2002 creation of the Global Campaign for Violence Prevention,
assessing how far the world has come and where more work is needed.
“Beyond an increased awareness of the burden of violence-related
deaths and physical injuries, the last five years have witnessed a major growth
in the understanding of how violence contributes to a wide spectrum of
non-injury health consequences and health risk behaviours across the entire
lifespan,” it says.
Although much remains to be done, the report notes
considerable progress. By 2007, three of the six WHO regional committees had
adopted violence prevention resolutions, more than 25 countries had developed
reports and/or plans of action on violence and health, and more than 100
officially appointed health ministry focal persons were in place to prevent
violence, the report finds.
The report offers a five year agenda to follow-up on key
recommendations. WHO recommends that countries:
· Create,
implement and monitor national action plans for violence prevention;
· Enhance
capacity for collecting data on violence;
· Define
properties for, and support research on, the causes, consequences, costs and
prevention of violence;
· Promote
primary prevention responses;
· Strengthen
responses for victims of violence;
· Integrate
violence prevention into social and educational policies, and thereby promote
gender and social equality;
· Increase
collaboration and exchange of information on violence prevention;
· Promote
and monitor adherence to international treaties, laws and other mechanisms to
promote human rights; and
· Seek
practical, internationally agreed to responses to the global drug trade and
global arms trade.
In 2003, WHO emphasized collaboration among the diverse
violence prevention organizations and individuals. In 2004, it promoted the
“need for rigorous methodological guidelines in order to better estimate the
economic impacts of violence and monitor the cost-effectiveness of prevention
strategies.” In 2005, it stressed the need for systematically designed
prevention programs. Its 2006 report reinforced that investing in violence
prevention can pay sizeable dividends. This year’s report offers lessons
learned throughout the process.
Director-General of the World Health Organization Margaret
Chan notes, “Visible results for violence prevention builds confidence, and in
turn, the political commitment and momentum required to intensify and expand
the prevention of violence.”
To view the new report, please visit http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2007/9789241595476_eng.pdf.
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