Child cannot protect themselves - they need help

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CAPE TIMES: WEDNESDAY February 16 2006

ERIC ATMORE (Cape Times. Jan nary 30) makes a passionate plea to politicians to meet the social and educational development needs of the city's youngest children and states that commitment to the survival and protection of children is paramount for prosperity in society.

The Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern Africa (CAPFSA) wholeheartedly agrees with these arguments, but would like to add another very important issue, often forgotten or neglected.

This is the issue of child trauma. About 20 million of South Africa's inhabitants are children. According to the Medical Research Council, about 3 000 children under the age of 15 years die each year from unnatural causes. The most common causes of childhood deaths are motor vehicle pedestrian fatalities 282°-0; motor vehicle passenger fatalities 7.G%; drowning 139%; burns 13.3°­ International and South African research has shown that children living in low-income settings are more likely to be injured than children in communities with greater financial resources. Informal settlements and townships in South Africa have historically been environmentally degraded, with inadequate infrastructure, overcrowding and limited recreational facilities. All of these compromise the health and safety of children.

The impact of childhood injuries are many and include:

• Short term effects: Hospitalisation of the child is a traumatic event for the child and family. Schoolgoing children are often admitted to hospital for a long period, which has an influence on the child's schoolwork. Working parents have to take time off from work to visit, which has consequences for the parent, such is no work, no pay.
• Financial costs: The cost of injuries can be reflected in economic costs to the individual victim and family, to the medical care system and to society.
• Long-term effects: Injuries to children may cause permanent disability or disfigurement Burns often result in a changed self-image and longterm psychological damage.
• Loss of manpower: The child, when reaching adulthood, may not be able to function as a productive income-generating person. Contrary to common belief, childhood accidents are not "natural events" and can be prevented.

The basic components of child accident prevention are:

• Education: This should be targeted at specific groups such as parents, children, families, community health workers, legislators and many more. However, it is ineffective on its own. Often vulnerable groups, such as the very young, are difficult to reach with education and/or are incapable of implementing safe practices.
• Older children may be more amenable to school education programmes. Various educational child safety campaigns have been developed to educate the public about safe behaviour and the prevention of childhood injuries. Local organisations such as CAPFSA, Paraffin Safety Association, emergency ser­vices and the MRCI have initiated prevention programmes to increase injury awareness and prevention.
• Environmental modification. Environmental modification or changes are required to reduce childhood injuries and deaths. Socioeconomic and environmental upliftment in especially low-income communities is essential. Safe housing and improved housing standards, fire-breaks between informal dwellings, access to water etc could all be instrumental in the prevention of childhood injuries.
• Engineering: This involves technological changes that make products safer. Engineering strategies frequently offer automatic protection from injury without requiring individuals to change their behaviour. Examples are fabric flammability of children's clothing: reflective materials incorporated into child products such as school uniforms; childproof containers for medication, toxic household solutions, paraffin and other products.
• Enforcement This attempts to reduce dangerous behaviour through regulation that requires individuals, manufacturers and governments to comply with certain safety practices. Examples of legislation currently in place to protect children from injury include mandatory use of seatbelts, firearms control, South African Bureau of Standards specific mandatory regulation, and specifications for child restraints in motor vehicles.
• Politicians will only be able to make a difference once they have secured collaboration of a wide range of disciplines, including healthcare workers, engineers, town planners and others. As long as society does not focus on the prevention of child injuries, we are failing our children; they are incapable of protecting themselves.

Professor Van As is director and Du Toit deputy director of the Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern Africa.