Child injury in the spotlight

Coincident with publication of this issue of the journal, the World Health Organization is releasing the World report on child injury prevention.12 This long-anticipated work is the result of the effort of over 180 colleagues and contributors, aptly edited by Margie Peden, four members of our current editorial board, and a number of other leaders in the field. The report focuses on the prevention of unintentional injury to children and includes both an executive summary and a child-friendly version.

The contents of the report should be no surprise to our readership. Nevertheless, the editors have done an admirable job summarizing the scope and impact of the major causes of unintentional child injury around the world. Though seldom ideal, the best estimates available regarding the burden of mortality and morbidity for each injury mechanism are reviewed. Cost estimates are included where possible, as are synopses of evidence-based countermeasures (the paucity of cost–effectiveness data for injury prevention interventions in low-income and middle-income countries is aptly highlighted here). The report does a nice job, …