Are We Aware of the Number One Killer of Our Kids?

Though we tend to look at young people as healthy, their health and death statistics says otherwise. According to World Health Organization (WHO), close to 10 million children under the age of five and more than 1.8 million young people from 15 to 24 die each year. Most of the deaths are preventable.

In the United States, injuries are the leading cause of death and disability in young people from one to 34 years says Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In fact, 67% of all deaths among children and adolescents from 5 to 19 are caused by injuries. Moreover, injuries involving medical treatment affect more than 20 million children and adolescents and cost $17 billion per year.

Worldwide, some 2,270 children die every day because of injuries says WHO. More than 2,000 of those deaths could have been prevented. A majority of injuries happen at home, among them falls, drowning and burns.

Violence is a major killer as well. WHO claims that both, violence and injury are a growing global health issue killing mostly children under the age of 18.

UN Secretary General's Study on Violence Against Children reveals that worldwide close to 53,000 children are murdered every year. UN further claims that the prevalence of different forms of sexual violence or forced sexual intercourse, among girls and boys under 18, is 150 million and 73 million, respectively.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set framework for the health of young people. Among the most relevant MDG aims are universal access to reproductive health and prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people.

According to WHO, some 16 million girls between 15 and 19 years old give birth every year worldwide, with majority of the births occurring in developing countries. Pregnancy is exposing girls to major health and developmental risks, even death. However, the United States is among seven countries where half of all adolescent births take place.

In 2008, 40% of all new HIV infections were among young people aged 15 to 24 years WHO also says. Worldwide, more than 5.7 million young people are living with HIV, and 2,500 are getting infected every day. Only 30% of young men and 19% of young women have adequate knowledge to protect themselves.

In the United States, close to 4,000 children have lived with HIV in 2007 CDC is reporting. The majority of these children acquired HIV through mother-to-child transmission.

Tobacco use among children is a growing global health problem as well. WHO estimates that close to 150 million young people are smokers. Half of them will die prematurely. Smoking is associated with alcohol, marijuana, cocaine use and other risky behaviors of young people.

Through better safety laws, public awareness campaigns, child-oriented emergency care and other safety measures, many countries were able to reduce child deaths by more than half.

Violence against children as one of the major killers is incorporated into WHO's Global Campaign for Violence Prevention. WHO and the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect have developed a guide for the prevention of child abuse by parents and caregivers with technical advise for governments, nongovernmental organizations and other governmental agencies how to design and implement prevention programs and how to detect child abuse.

Already in 2002, the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children recognized the urgency of national health policies for young people. In 2003, the Committee of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recognized the health needs and rights of young people. They are further recognized in the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Right to Health.

In December 2009, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the year commencing on August 12, 2010 as the International Year of Youth. And yet the pressing health issues are marking this Year of Youth, at home and abroad.

The question remains if the new health reform plan has given our kids enough protection. Considering the most recent grim statistics, the time is crucial. Are we prepared?

Source: CDC, WHO