Injury Prevention and Environmental Health

As many as 7.5 million deaths from injuries, occupational exposures, and environmental risks could be averted annually with better implementation of effective interventions and policies.

Patterns of injury- and environment-related risk evolve predictably with economic growth. Rapidly-developing low- and middle-income countries could avert a large burden of disease by pre-emptively implementing interventions such as the ones described in this volume.

 Several of the interventions included in the essential packages of interventions have beneficial effects for a variety of conditions. 

Implementation of most of the policy interventions included in the essential packages will require intersectoral collaboration and cooperation, including ministries responsible for finance, law enforcement, environment, planning, development, labor, and transportation. 

In 2012, estimated 842,000 global deaths were attributed to poor water supply, sanitation, and hygiene. These diseases have been shown to affect children’s nutrition, growth, and mental development.