On a global level, there has been measurable progress in terms of placing the issue of injury squarely on the public health agenda. Recent World Health Organization (WHO) reports such as the World report on violence and health¹ and the World report on road traffic injury prevention² have documented the magnitude of effects of injury and violence, and have provided the evidence base for effective injury prevention. Both reports have provided framework recommendations for injury prevention and have been supported politically through World Health Assembly and General Assembly resolutions, as well as practically through a range of documents and tools to assist countries to act on the recommendations.

Nevertheless, historical neglect of the injury area means many countries have little capacity to act on and implement these recommendations and tools. The result is a pressing need to develop capacities for injury prevention. In terms of the human resource capacity needs, there is both a deficit of sufficiently well-trained personnel, and of personnel with sufficiently developed skill sets to …