Injury and violence

Injuries cause over five million deaths globally each year and are one of the most challenging global health issues for the twenty-first century. Intentional injuries (violence) and unintentional injuries are amongst the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, especially in the developing world. Road traffic injuries, burns, drowning, poisoning and falls are the important unintentional injuries; while homicides, suicides, assaults and intimate partner violence comprise the majority of intentional injuries. According to global statistics, deaths from injuries are projected to rise in future years, and this loss of healthy life will particularly impact the poor, the young, and those in low and middle income countries.

Large parts of the developing world are undergoing a rapid social and economic transition, such that injuries are adding to the layer of current diseases, creating a huge 'double burden' of health problems. Although injuries continually contribute to the changing disease burden as these transitions occur, the nature and types of injuries often differ at various stages of national development. As a result, injuries in the developed world are often different from those in the developing world.

Injuries of all types do not occur at random: they are predictable and preventable. There are effective prevention and control strategies which have been used in high income countries for decades. Such interventions need to be tested and implemented in developing countries. The purpose of this thematic section is to briefly summarise the evolving state of knowledge on different types of injuries as an important public health issue, and to provide access to resources on current efforts to reduce such injuries.