ChildSafe SA, in collaboration with Woolworths, has announced the launch of a programme to reduce preventable injuries among children.
The Leave No Child Behind Child Injury Prevention Awareness, Education and Training intervention will focus on equipping early childhood development (ECD) practitioners, community health workers, and community members with skills required to keep children free from harm.
This initiative, which recently commenced in East London, will primarily focus on the Buffalo City metropolitan municipal area, leveraging the relations with the provincial hospitals to drive change towards enhancing child injury prevention awareness and training.
Spearheading the programme expansion and operating from East London is ChildSafe social auxiliary worker and programme co-ordinator, Ntomby Beko.
The programme is designed to directly benefit children, while also supporting caregivers and household members. It aims to create sustainable career paths for social auxiliary workers, school principals, and practitioners within the ECD sector.
Additionally, the programme will empower community health workers to become child injury prevention ambassadors, ensuring that prevention strategies are culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate, increasing reach and saturation.
The Eastern Cape is SA’s second-largest province by area and the fourth most populous province, with around 7.2-million people, according to the 2022 census. According to StatsSA, around 32.7% of the Eastern Cape’s population is under the age of 15.
This means there are roughly 2.35-million children under the age of 15 in the province.
The department of paediatric surgery in East London provides trauma care services to children at both Frere Hospital and Cecilia Makiwane Hospital (CMH) in Mdantsane, servicing the central third of the Eastern Cape.
Associate professor and head of the department of paediatric surgery at the East London Hospital Complex, Prof Milind Chitnis, highlights the most common types of injuries among children requiring hospital admission as burns (40%), motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) (20%), dog bites (10%), falls (10%), sexual assaults (10%) and gunshot wounds (10%).
“These injuries vary by age group, with burns and falls being more prevalent among infants and toddlers (0-4), while older children (7-12 years) are more likely to suffer from MVAs and dog bites,” Chitnis said.
Chitnis, who is in the process of establishing a paediatric trauma registry for Africa to provide credible data on child injury incidence and prevalence, said: “We educate parents and caregivers when their children are admitted in our wards after the injury occurred. There is a huge need to have standardised prevention strategies to reduce these injuries and this is where ChildSafe SA will play a significant role.”
Meanwhile, ChildSafe SA, headquartered in Cape Town, expanded its operation in Gauteng earlier this year, and has now launched its Eastern Cape operation, with further expansion to Kwa-Zulu Natal, and Bloemfontein planned in coming years.
The orgainsation says the leading causes of injury resulting in hospitalisation among children 0-14 include road traffic injuries, burns, drowning, falls and ingestions.
Road traffic injuries are particularly prevalent, often involving pedestrian accidents and vehicle collisions.
Burns, especially from hot water, fire, and electrical sources, are also a significant cause of hospital admissions. Falls, which can occur in various settings such as homes, playgrounds, and schools, are another major cause of injury among children.
Children who suffer from major burns or are involved in motor vehicle accidents, as an example, often require extensive rehabilitation, including physiotherapy and occupational therapy, and may face disfigurement and the need for reconstructive surgery.
These injuries can lead to delays in schooling and social interaction difficulties.
ChildSafe executive director Zaitoon Rabaney said the programme sought to reduce the incidence of child injuries and alleviate the burden on the public health system in the Eastern Cape.
“People often speak about children’s rights, but they forget to address the critical issue of child injuries — how they occur, their profound impact on the child, and the fact that most of these injuries are preventable. This programme is a vital step towards raising awareness and implementing effective prevention strategies for children in the Eastern Cape,” she said.
Woolworths plays a pivotal role in this initiative, demonstrating the power of corporate citizenship in driving social change.
“In our pursuit of an inclusive world, we have a deep sense of responsibility to use our platform as a business to drive social justice. We’re deeply passionate about creating a positive impact on the communities in which we operate and through our Inclusive Justice Initiative, we believe everyone should feel valued and have the opportunity to thrive,“ Woolworths director of corporate social justice Zinzi Mgolodela said.
“We support ChildSafe SA’s programme, equipping caregivers with the knowledge and tools to enhance child injury prevention and create a safer environment so that children can flourish and thrive.
“We are delighted that these workshops have now expanded to the Eastern Cape, as we believe that no child should be left behind,” Mgolodela said.
“ChildSafe and Woolworths are committed to creating a safer environment for children and ensuring that no child is left behind,” Mgolodela said.
