VietNamNet Bridge – Traffic accidents and drowning are two of the leading causes of accidental deaths in Viet Nam, according to health experts at the second National Scientific Conference on Injury Prevention in Ha Noi yesterday, Oct 25.

A swimming class for children in Vinh City in the central province of Nghe An. Swimming lessons are very important to preventing children from drowning. (Photo: VNS)

Of those fatalities, 15,000 people died as a result of injuries sustained in traffic accidents and another 6,000 died of drowning, together making up 60 per cent of the total.

"Two out of every five of the [injury-related] fatalities were people under the age of 19, meaning the largest burden of injuries fell among children and juvenile groups," said UNICEF Deputy Representative in Viet Nam Jean Dupraz.

However, the hundreds of thousands of remaining injuries did not lead to death but some still required treatment and/or long-term care, which were huge burdens that the health system, families, the community and society had to shoulder, said Dupraz.

Health Deputy Minister Nguyen Viet Tien said workplace accidents were also causing a large number of fatalities in Viet Nam.

Nearly 6,000 workplace accidents led to about 580 fatalities annually, he said.

Limited co-ordination for the implementation of injury prevention activities had resulted in weak co-operation between ministries and sectors, and a lack of community awareness of the issue, he said.

In the coming time, the health sector said it would focus its activities on injury prevention at the community level with priority given to preventing traffic accidents, drowning and workplace accidents, especially among children and the elderly.

In order to prevent traffic accident injuries, tightening motorbike helmet rule enforcement, raising awareness of the consequences of drink driving, and promoting driving at safe speeds should be implemented under the strict supervision of the traffic police force, said Dupraz.

According to the MoH, Viet Nam achieved notable results in injury prevention during recent years, and many models and intervention measures were proven effective in Viet Nam. Swimming lessons and monitoring programmes have shown that it is important to offer these programmes to prevent children from drowning.

The two-day event, co-organised by the MoH, the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Fund for Children in Viet Nam, aims to exchange experience and promote policies on injury prevention measures in Viet Nam.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News