Improving safety could save 15 000 children's lives a year in Europe, says WHO

In 2002 an estimated 28 000 children in Europe under the age of 15 lost their lives through injuries, data from the World Health Organization show. More than half the deaths could have been prevented if safety measures were improved, particularly in countries with poor safety records.

The WHO's league table on deaths from childhood injuries, launched at the first European conference on injury prevention and safety promotion this weekend, shows a wide gap between countries in the European region in mortality from injuries among children and in safety …