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Violence and injuries

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  • Symposium launches plans to increase road safety in Turkey
    23-05-2012
    The Third National Symposium for Road Traffic Safety held in Ankara, Turkey on 16-18 May 2012 was opened by Mr İdris Naim Sahin, Minister of Interior and Mr Binali Yıldırım, Minister of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communication.
  • Road safety project in Russian Federation targets speeding
    13-04-2012
    On 9 April 2012, WHO marked the beginning of a new phase in the road safety in 10 countries project, with the launch of a mass-media campaign to reduce speeding in Ivanovo Oblast, Russian Federation. 
  • Progress toward improved road safety in Turkey
    12-03-2012
    The Road Safety in 10 Countries Project, RS10, met in Ankara, Turkey, on 28 February to discuss the progress achieved in Turkey in 2011 and to establish a workplan for 2012. This 4th Partners Meeting for the RS10 project in Turkey was attended by 55 policy makers and practitioners from Turkey together with the project's international partners.
  • Turkey launches “World report on disability”
    23-02-2012
    The report, by WHO and the World Bank, was launched on 9 February 2012 in Turkey, at an event organized jointly by the authors and the Ministry of Family and Social Policy of Turkey.
  • WHO/Europe draws attention to child maltreatment prevention policy briefs on violence against children
    07-02-2012
    The United Nations Secretary-General’s report on violence against children has heightened awareness in Member States of the victimization of children worldwide. In this context, the WHO Regional Office for Europe has produced policy briefings on the Public health approach to preventing child maltreatment in the WHO European Region and The cycles of violence: the key facts.
  • National workshop on preventing interpersonal violence, Nicosia, Cyprus, 17-18 January 2012
    07-02-2012
    A two day national workshop on the prevention of interpersonal violence was hosted by the Ministry of Health of Cyprus with technical support from the violence and injury prevention teams of the WHO Regional Office of Europe and WHO Headquarters. Multidisciplinary stakeholders attending the meeting represented not only the health sector, but also the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.
  • Exchange programme highlights road-safety developments in Turkey and Russian Federation
    17-01-2012
    The Road Safety in 10 Countries Project, RS10, focused on seat-belt use and speed control during its first stage. Meeting in Ankara, Turkey on 7–9 December 2011, members of the project teams in Turkey and the Russian Federation discussed progress so far.
  • Register for webinar: Prevention of child maltreatment and associated impairment: an evidence-based overview
    10-01-2012
    Registration is open for this WHO webinar which will take place 19 January 2012, with presentations by Dr Harriet MacMillan, Professor, Psychiatry, Behavioural Neurosciences, Pediatrics, McMaster University, Canada and Dr Christoper Mikton, WHO headquarters, Switzerland.
  • Drink–driving: still a deadly seasonal cocktail
    15-12-2011
    Road accidents usually increase during the winter holiday season, owing to higher levels of drinking. Although all European countries have national policies on drink–driving, enforcement remains a critical issue.
  • Albania launches strategy to halve road traffic deaths by 2020
    13-12-2011
    In the WHO European Region, road traffic injuries are responsible for 120,000 deaths each year, 2.4 million injuries and are the leading killer in young people aged 5-29 years. In Albania, like in other European countries, road traffic deaths follow an increasing trend. The United Nations General Assembly called for an international Decade of Action for Road Safety to respond to this global growing epidemic. The launch of the Decade of Action in Albania was organized by the WHO Country Office in Tirana on 22 November 2011, opened by the Minister of Health, Dr Petrit Vasili and chaired by the Director General of the Ministry of Health, Dr Pelumb Pipero. 
  • National seminar calls for better prevention of child self-harm in the Czech Republic
    02-12-2011
    The Czech Minister of Health, Dr Leos Heger, and the Head of the WHO Country Office, Dr Alena Steflova opened a national seminar on child self-harm and violence prevention in Prague, Czech Republic, on 14 November 2011, which was attended by about 50 stakeholders from various sectors.
  • Pervasiveness of violence against women should shock us all
    25-11-2011
    The lives of millions of women continue to be deeply affected by violence, much of which is committed by their intimate partners. Around the world hundreds of groups are marking today's International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, a global observance which draws attention to the unacceptably high levels of violence against women in many societies. The Day is also used to highlight strategies to prevent violence against women and improve services for victims. In his statement of support for the Day, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon notes, "Whether in developing or developed countries, the pervasiveness of this violence should shock us all. Violence - and in many cases the mere threat of it - is one of the most significant barriers to women's full equality."
  • Violence and injuries: next steps in prevention
    17-10-2011
    The sixth meeting of the network of European health ministry focal persons for violence and injury prevention took place in Oslo, Norway on 11–12 October, attended by 70 participants from 37 countries in the WHO European Region. The plenary sessions focused on services for victims of violence, delivered by staff from the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, and a WHO expert highlighted the global directions for the violence prevention networks, including the forthcoming survey for the global status report on violence prevention.
  • WHO/Europe workshops on road safety in Belarus
    11-10-2011
    The WHO Country Office, Belarus organized and a WHO/Europe expert conducted two workshops on road safety in Minsk.
  • Reducing death and disability through road safety project in Turkey
    29-09-2011
    Key national institutions in Turkey and international partners meet in Ankara on 29 September 2011 to discuss progress of the Turkey Road Safety project where speeding and use of seat belts aim to reduce road traffic injuries. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death of 15-29 year olds in the European Region, and kill nearly 1.3 million people every year globally.
  • Sixth meeting of the European network of national focal persons for violence and injury prevention. Oslo, Norway, 11-12 October 2011
    23-08-2011
    The main aim of the meeting is to review progress in the implementation of WHO/Europe Resolution EUR/RC55/R9 on prevention of violence and injuries and of the EU Council Recommendation on the prevention of injury and the promotion of safety. The network will also discuss next steps for future collaboration.
  • Reducing road deaths in Turkey: Ministry of Health and WHO meet to discuss achievements of the Road Safety project
    04-08-2011
    The Ministry of Health’s primary health care team lead by Dr Seracettin, Com General Director, visited the WHO Country Office, on 29 July 2011. The aim of the visit was to review the progress of the Road Safety project in 10 countries (RS10) funded by the Bloomberg Initiative and also implemented in Turkey.
  • New WHO/Europe report: an estimated 10 000 old people physically abused every day
    16-06-2011
    Every year at least 4 million older people in the WHO European Region are estimated to suffer physical abuse: being slapped, punched, kicked, burned, wounded with a knife or locked in their rooms. Research also indicates that as many as 2500 older people may die at the hands of family members. These are the main findings of the new European report on preventing elder maltreatment, released today by WHO/Europe at the 3rd European Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, in Budapest, Hungary. The report gives the first description of the size, causes and consequences of elder maltreatment, and provides an overview of good practice in prevention.
  • New world report shows more than 1 billion people with disabilities face substantial barriers in their daily lives
    09-06-2011
    The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank today revealed new global estimates that more than one billion people experience some form of disability. They urged governments to step up efforts to enable access to mainstream services and to invest in specialized programmes to unlock the vast potential of people with disabilities.
  • Launch of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 in Uzbekistan
    06-06-2011
    On 11 May, dozens of countries around the world kicked off the first global Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.
  • Road safety saves lives and money
    25-05-2011
    Road-traffic crashes kill over 350 Europeans every day, or over 120 000 per year. Almost half of them are pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists, and 6 out of 10 are aged 5–44 years. This unacceptable toll is particularly high in low- and middle-income countries.  At the 2011 summit of the International Transport Forum (ITF) in Leipzig, Germany, WHO/Europe is launching the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020 in the WHO European Region, along with the Global Plan for the Decade, which sets out how countries can save money, as well as lives.
  • Poland launches Decade for Action on Road Safety
    25-05-2011
    The road safety campaign, "Decade for Action on Road Safety" was launched on 11 May 2011 in Poland by the United Nations, WHO and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent.
  • Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 launched in Slovakia
    24-05-2011
    On 11 May 2011 a working seminar and a press conference were held in Bratislava to mark the launch of the "Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020".
  • Official Launch of Decade for Action on Road Safety in Tajikistan
    24-05-2011
    Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death from injury, the eleventh leading cause of all deaths and ranks in ninth place in contribution to the burden of disease worldwide. Each year 1.2 million men, women and children are killed worldwide in road.
  • Stop discrimination against homosexual men and women
    17-05-2011
    Despite the clear commitment to non-discrimination based on sexual orientation made by most Member States in the WHO European Region, many problems remain in protecting and promoting the rights of homosexuals. Sex between men is still a crime in some parts of the Region. 17 May is the International Day Against Homophobia.
  • Launch of Decade of Action on Road Safety 2011–2020 in Hungary
    16-05-2011
    On 11 May 2011, the WHO Country office, Hungary, along with the Ministry of Development, the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) (and other nongovernmental organizations in Hungary), the national police and the national transport authority launched the campaign, Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.
  • The government of the Republic of Moldova launches Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020
    13-05-2011
    In the Republic of Moldova around 500 people lost their life in road crashes last year and many more were injured. More than half of road traffic deaths were among people younger than 25.
  • Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 launched in Russian Federation
    13-05-2011
    Today the campaign, "Decade of Action on road safety 2011-2020" was launched in hundreds of places around the world, including in Moscow.
  • Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 launched in Slovenia
    13-05-2011
    This week an event was held in Ljubljana to mark the launch of the charter, "Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020".
  • Road Safety Decade launches today
    11-05-2011
    Road traffic injuries kill some 127 000 people in the WHO European Region every year. WHO/Europe welcomes the Decade of Action on Road Safety 2011–2020, which aims to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries in the Region and the world.
  • High-profile event starts the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 in Croatia
    11-05-2011
  • One road death affects thousands: road safety project in Turkey
    04-05-2011
    The road safety awareness campaign, "One road death affects thousands" was launched at an event on 2 May 2011 in Afyonkarahisar. 
  • Road safety: need for further actions in Uzbekistan
    27-04-2011
    Uzbekistan recognizes the importance of joining the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, officially proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in March 2010.
  • Workshop on alcohol, violence and injury prevention in the Republic of Moldova
    11-03-2011
  • Earth Hour: use energy wisely
    09-03-2011
    20.30 to 21.30 on Saturday 26 March 2011 will mark Earth Hour, when lights will be switched off around the globe so people can take a stand against climate change. Reducing overall energy use and encouraging the uptake of renewable energy sources have a dual benefit for health. This year we are being encouraged to “Go beyond the hour!”  
  • Violence against women: an urgent public health priority
    08-03-2011
    Addressing violence against women is central to the achievement of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 3 on women's empowerment and gender equality, as well as MDGs 4, 5 and 6. It is also a peace and security issue. In spite of this recognition, investment in prevention and in services for survivors remains woefully inadequate.
  • Training workshop for European national data coordinators on road safety. Geneva, Switzerland, 6–7 April 2011
    16-02-2011
    In preparation for the second global and European status report on road safety, WHO will train the national data coordinators for the European Region on the methods to be applied for the collection and validation of country data on road safety.
  • WHO/Europe holds its first international consultation on elderly maltreatment
    16-02-2011
    The first WHO international consultation on the prevention of elderly maltreatment closed yesterday in Rome. The two-day meeting was convened by the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health in preparation of a new European report on the prevention of elderly maltreatment, to be released at the Third European Conference of Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion scheduled later this year in Budapest.
  • Global status report on alcohol and health 2011
    11-02-2011
    The Global status report on alcohol and health (2011) presents a comprehensive perspective on the global, regional and country consumption of alcohol, patterns of drinking, health consequences and policy responses. In addition to the global perspective, the report contains country profiles for each European Member State.
  • Call for abstracts: third European conference on injury prevention and safety promotion, Budapest, Hungary, 16-17 June 2011
    27-01-2011
    Within the theme of how best to transfer and apply of good practice in injury prevention in new settings and environments, the conference will highlight successful safety promotion initiatives and actions.Submissions of poster abstracts are welcome until 15 February 2011.
  • WHO webinar on violence prevention: the evidence to be held on 2 December 2010
    29-11-2010
    The second webinar in the series, presented by Karen Hughes on the evidence for violence prevention, is an eight-part series of briefings on the evidence for interventions to prevent interpersonal and self-directed violence.
  • World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in the Russian Federation
    26-11-2010
    On the occasion of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, the Regional Administration of Lipetskaya Oblast, the Regional Police Department and WHO organized an event in Lipetsk on 21 November 2010.
  • World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in Slovenia
    20-11-2010
    The third Sunday of November each year is designated as the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. This year on 20 November, Slovenia promoted greater road safety.
  • New rehabilitation guidelines for the disabled launched
    09-11-2010
    WHO has released new community-based rehabilitation (CBR) guidelines to support the inclusion of people with disabilities in health, education, employment, social, skills-training and other community services and activities.
  • New series of WHO webinars on violence and injuries starts on 2 November 2010
    28-10-2010
    WHO is launching a series of webinars, which will begin with several of the superb state of the art presentations given at the 10th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion held in September 2010 in London. The first webinar in the series will be presented by Dr Fred Rivara on the topic of child injuries.
  • Preventing youth violence
    21-09-2010
    40 young Europeans are murdered each day, 16 of them with knives. A new WHO report shows how these deaths can be prevented.
  • Stakeholder workshop for elder abuse prevention in the WHO European Region. London, United Kingdom, 24 September 2010
    20-09-2010
    WHO/Europe organizes this workshop, taking place during the Safety 2010 world conference in London, for practitioners, scientists and policy makers interested in preventing elder abuse.
  • Inventory of national policies on prevention of violence and injuries updated with 79 policies for 35 countries
    27-07-2010
    This European inventory collects policy initiatives undertaken at national level in countries across the Region by different sectors involved in the prevention of violence and injuries.
  • Developing the European report on youth and knife violence. Editorial meeting in Rome, Italy, 1-2 June 2010
    28-05-2010
    Youth violence accounts for a significant burden. In most European countries, knives and sharp instruments are the most used common weapons. An international policy dialogue, held in September 2009, focused on the role of health systems in multisectoral response. Based on its conclusions, a European report on youth violence (including knives and other sharp implements) is being developed.
  • Progress in preventing violence and injuries: over 40 country assessments available
    02-05-2010
    These two-page summaries include a synthesis country profile and an assessment of the country’s progress in preventing violence and injuries based on the effectiveness of interventions in place. The pillars of the analysis include national policies, the implementation of effective interventions, the impact of resolution EUR/RC55/R9 and next steps.