Ladies and gentlemen,
I am honoured to be here for the opening of the 5th Asian Regional Conference of Safe Communities. Beijing is a choice venue, home to many of the 15 designated Safe Communities on mainland China.
Most Beijing residents know that Safe Communities like Dongzhimen and Wang Jing are good places to live and work. But what differentiates them from other locations? Looking at the regional network, what does Dongzhimen have in common with Suwon in South Korea?
When WHO started this initiative with Sweden's Karolinska Institute 20 years ago, our basic premise was that all human beings have an equal right to health and safety.
Based on this common understanding, Safe Communities seek to prevent injuries and suicide, to promote safety and health in the workplace and the environment, to be prepared for disaster prevention and emergency rescue.
There is clearly a need for this initiative. In China, for example, injury and violence account for more deaths and disabilities than communicable diseases and nutritional disorders combined. This is especially true for people aged 5 to 44 years. Injuries are one of the greatest public health threats to China's continued economic development.
To address these challenges, we must reach across different sectors and work with all levels of society. A community that is safe and healthy requires government agencies, law enforcement, healthcare providers, business and service organizations, citizens' groups, schools, social services agencies and safety advocates to work together. A top-down, policy-driven approach alone will not work if people at the grassroots level are not engaged or even aware of the concepts of injury and safety.
WHO believes strongly in this integrated approach. And it can be done, judging from the success of our Healthy Cities initiative that offers multisectoral solutions to health issues.
In practice, WHO and the International Labour Organization are helping to conduct the National Profile on Occupational Health and Safety in China. When completed at the end of this year, this profile will provide an overview of the workplace situation countrywide.
WHO is also supporting the authorities in injury prevention, especially in the areas of road traffic, child drowning and pesticide poisoning. We work with partners like UNICEF, the World Bank and the Global Road Safety Partnership to develop ground-breaking reports and manuals detailing guidelines and recommendations for implementing injury prevention activities.
These partnerships play a central role in promoting community safety in China. In the same way, collaborations across the regional and global network are crucial in order to share best practices and learn from each other's experiences.
The Asian Safe Communities network is growing fast. There are now over 40 such communities in the region, and over 70 more are either close to or preparing to qualify for designation. At the same time, we should remember that becoming a Safe Community is not the final destination, but a first step in an ongoing process to ensure community safety and health.
I wish you a fruitful conference, and every success on this interesting journey.
Thank you.