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The World Health Organization (WHO) is the United Nations specialized agency for health. It was established on 7 April 1948. WHO's objective, as set out in its Constitution, is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.
WHO has identified injuries and violence as a major threat to health and well-being. In cooperation with other UN agencies and partners, WHO has focused on developing evidence-based normative tools to inform the content of country-level work.
A key strategy has been the development of world reports such as the World report on violence and health, the World report on road traffic injury prevention and the World report on child injuries. These reports have provided strong advocacy platforms that can be used to leverage resources and political will. They also provide sound policy and programme recommendations, and together with the related technical guidelines, constitute a set of tools countries can use to begin reducing the burden of injury and violence.
WHO is working with selected countries to implement its normative tools and establish model programmes.
Recognizing the potential value of inter-sectoral liaison and collaboration, WHO is organizing a series of bi-annual World Conferences on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion. These conferences play an important role, by facilitating the exchange of information and experiences throughout the world, in developing the professional level of injury prevention practice and by getting a growing number of professionals and stakeholders connected to the WHO-policies for violence and injury prevention. It especially aims at expanding the network of professionals involved in injury prevention and to offer training and skills building opportunities to those who entered the field just recently. The next conference will be in New Zealand, October 2012.
In response to resolution EUR/RC55/R9 on prevention of injuries in the WHO European Region (September 2005), health ministries in 48 of the 53 European Member States have appointed at least one focal person for preventing either injury or violence or both. The network of European national focal points (NFP's) - objectives are:
- to facilitate the exchange of relevant information and experiences across the Region, and
- to strengthen the regional and national capacity to advocate for injury prevention, promote evidence-based preventive strategies and develop cross-sectoral partnerships.
For more information on WHO-Euro activities: www.euro.who.int
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