More than 2000 children die every day due to accidents, with most of them killed in road crashes, according to a United Nations report published on Wednesday.

Every year, 830 000 children aged up to 19 years are killed by accidents, with road accidents claiming some 260 000 of these lives, while 175 000 others drown.

Deaths from burns number 96 000, falls 46 000 and poisoning another 45 000, according to the first global report on the issue by the World Health Organisation and the UN children's agency UNICEF.

Africa has the most road victims

From the age of nine, accidents are the main cause of deaths among children, ahead of infectious diseases, malnutrition and war, noted the report.

"The social factor proves to be the determinant," Margie Peden from WHO said.

"Be it in rich countries or in development, it is children in unfavourable situations who have higher risk of being accident victims," she explained.

In fact, 95 percent of the victims count amongst poor or developing countries.

At 19.9 for every thousand deaths, Africa has the most road victims.

Western Pacific and South-east Asia record the most drowning cases, at 27.4 per 1000 and 12.3 per 1000 respectively. Deaths from burns also occur most often in South-east Asia and in the Middle East.

"For too long, infant mortality due to accidents were considered as a fatality, a sort of price to pay for development," said Etienne Krug from the WHO.

"This question of public health is relatively new as the themes of infectious diseases and malnutrition have dominated for a long time," he said.

Beyond deaths, accidents also lead to millions of injuries.

"Child injuries are an important public health and development issue. In addition to the 830 000 deaths every year, millions of children suffer non-fatal injuries that often require long-term hospitalisation and rehabilitation," said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan.

The report highlighted the cost of injuries to governments, noting that prevention methods lead to substantial reductions in healthcare costs.

For instance, every dollar invested in a smoke detector could help to save $65 in costs to the economy, while a dollar spent on bicycle helmets translates to $29 in savings.

AFP