Accidents top cause of death for children
( 2003-11-19 09:09) (People's Daily)
At least 10 million children
in China are estimated to suffer injuries from accidents every year, or about 10
percent of the number of children between the ages of one and 14 in the country.
Accidents have become the top cause of death for Chinese children, killing
100,000 children and disabling 400,000 every year, according to Song Wenzhen, an
official with the National Women and Children's Working Committee of the State
Council.
Song gave the figures Tuesday at a mid-term review meeting of the
China-UNICEF Program 2001-2005.
Statistics from the committee show that drowning and traffic accidents are
the top two causes of death. Other causes for children dying of accident
injuries include suffocation, a sudden fall, injuries caused by animals and
fires.
With the help of UNICEF, the National Women and Children's Working Committee
investigated China's death cause registration system, national disease
monitoring system and various related research to get a clearer picture of the
issue in China.
Their research showed that the mortality rate of Chinese children has
decreased from 18.19 per thousand in 1957 to 1.97 per thousand in 2000. The
mortality rate for babies reduced from 200 per thousand in the early 1950s to 32
per thousand in 2000.
Studies in many countries show that children's deaths caused by diseases and
unsanitary living conditions have been reduced while the accident injuries are
becoming more serious. Meanwhile, disability caused by accidents also greatly
affects children's physical and psychological development.
In May 2001, China made the Outline for Children's Development in China,
making it one of its goals to lower the mortality rate of babies and children
under the age of five.
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