Preventing interpersonal and self-directed violence and injuries in the Caribbean
Publication year: 2015
The issue of violence and injuries and its status as a
major public health problem has gained significant
political traction both internationally and within the
Caribbean region during the last two decades.
Internationally, the momentum began to build
across the Americas in 1993 with PAHO resolution
CD37.R19 (Violence and Health)(1), and in 1996
when, at the 49th World Health Assembly,
resolution 49.25 first helped to establish the issue
of violence and injuries as a recognized global
health priority. Specifically, it urged member states
to: 1) assess the problem of violence in their own
jurisdictions; and 2) communicate the extent of
their problems to the World Health Organization
(WHO) with suggestions about solutions.(2)
Building on these efforts, in 2002 WHO released
the World Report on Violence and Health, which
was the first comprehensive review of the problem
of violence on a global scale, and helped to further
raise the profile of the issue on the agendas of
global institutions and several national
governments.(3,4) The report also led to the
development of the Global Status Report on
Violence Prevention, which was published in 2014
with data from 133 countries (including five
English-speaking Caribbean countries).