20-05-2008
Negligence and lack of supervision are the major cause of children accidents
Negligence and lack of supervision of children has been the main cause of children accidents and sufferings, according to Colonel Othman Usef Al Tamai, director of emergency and public safety at the General headquarters of Abu Dhabi Police.
About 120 children were affected by suffocation inside the vehicles during the last seven years he said. The negligence and lack of supervision of children at homes, inside the vehicles, swimming pools and high rise buildings are also of serious concern and cause of accidents to children according to the data’s available, he added.
Major Sultan Hassan Al Housani, head of the ambulance section said that there were 45 cases of children swallowing coins and other such materials during the last year, which had happened due to lack of care from the part of parents and other elders who were responsible for looking after them. The ambulance department had handled a total of 188 cases related to children, 90 cases being traffic accidents, 38 cases related to falling from high rise buildings, 10 children were affected by high temperature and five cases were of epilepsy. A four year old died due to falling from fifteenth flour and six year old dies falling from 16 th floor and an eight year old was drowned while swimming as per the records, he stated.
The children’s safety campaign titled ,their life is precious has been launched by the general headquarters of Abu Dhabi police is with this urgent need to safe guard the life of the children by creating mass awareness regarding the risks faced by the children and nature of safety measures to be taken by all concerned.
Dr. Usef Al Housani, public health and community safety expert at the Zayed military hospital said that the child safety campaign shows the real commitment from the part of the organizers in addressing the child safety issues and will go a long way in involving all community members in achieving the total child safety goal of this campaign.
Dr. Usef said that, according to the Ministry of health statistics among the total deaths during the period 2000 to 2005, 13 percent were children. This percentage is more than what is recorded in Sweden and UK. Among the causes of children death traffic accident leads with 55 percent, presence of foreign bodies 13 percent ,death due to falling 8 percent, drowning 7 percent ,burning 5 percent and poisoning 1 percent, as per records.
Engineer Hassen Maraai Al Katheri, consumer affairs expert, Parents and other elders must make sure the children are not given any materials that can be swallowed and keep a vigil on ch
