The facts

The lives of children and young people are ending prematurely and unnecessarily due to unintentional injury.

• Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death in children aged from five to 19 years old.
• Tens of millions of children require hospital care every year for non-fatal injuries.
When a child reaches the age of nine years old, drowning, road traffic injuries, burns and poisoning together cause the biggest threat to his or her survival.
• Child injuries remain a problem in high-income countries and account for 40% of deaths.

In the UK alone, unintentional injury is a leading cause of death and illness among children aged one to 14 years, and causes more children to be admitted to hospital each year than any other reason.

• Unintentional injury results in more than six million visits to A & E departments.
• Approximately two million of these involve children.
• This costs the NHS approximately £146 million.
• Half of the injuries occur at home.
• Unintentional injuries are a substantial and preventable public health problem, and represent a significant burden to society.