The Safety 2016 World Conference has adopted a 13-point Tampere Declaration with a call for promoting stronger coordinated actions to reduce road traffic crashes, violence, drowning, suicide, and similar other mishaps globally.

International experts, road safety activists, and policymakers came up with the declaration at the closing session of the four-day "Safety 2016- the 12th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion" at Tampere city in Finland on Wednesday.

There needs to be coordination among civil society groups, safety rights bodies and community-based organisations for prevention of injuries and violence, they told the closing session, chaired by Pirjo Lillsunde, ministerial adviser of the Finnish ministry of social affairs and health.

Around 1,200 delegates are participating in the conference, organised by the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare and co-sponsored by World Health Organization (WHO).

Around five million people die annually in the world due to different kinds of injury caused by road traffic crashes, violence, drowning, suicide, and similar other things.

Traffic crashes take the largest chunk of injury-related deaths claiming over 1.2 million lives annually across the world, said participants in the conference referring to data and studies of WHO.

Beyond deaths, tens of millions of people suffer injuries that lead to hospitalisation, emergency department visits, and treatment. Many are left with temporary or permanent disabilities; violence and injuries (not only road crash, rather all other mishaps) are responsible for an estimated six percent of the total number of people living with disabilities globally.    

The Tampere declaration emphasises that each country develop multi-sectoral national action plans to implement policy, programmes and legislation for injury and violence prevention and control, with clear targets and monitoring mechanism.

There should be units for injury and violence prevention within the health ministry, and other ministries. Governments should adapt, implement and monitor proven strategies at national and local levels to reduce risk factors and prevent injuries and violence, including but not limited to legislation, regulation, enforcement and environmental modification, and safety equipment and standards.

Authorities concerned should promote expanded access to medical, legal and psychosocial support services and to arrange rehabilitation for the injured and their families, and expanded access to services for those at risk of injuries or violence.

The government should raise awareness and improve health literacy by improving communication and dissemination of information on the impact of injuries and violence, and effective prevention and control strategies.

Other calls include strengthening standardised national and community-based data collection on fatal and non-fatal injuries and violence and arranging education and training for professional development of both policymakers and researchers for better coordination of works, and encouraging participation of civil society and the private sector in injury and violence prevention.