Landmine related injuries in children of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1991–2000: comparisons with adults
- Unicef, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Correspondence to: Dr S Kinra, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Canynge Hall, Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2PR, UK; Sanjay.Kinra{at}bristol.ac.uk
- Accepted 26 September 2002
Each year landmines kill and maim an estimated 26 000 people worldwide.1 About 10%–40% of these victims are children, most of whom are affected long after the cessation of hostilities.2,3 These deaths and injuries are potentially preventable but planning measures are hampered by the lack of data on determinants of landmine injuries in children; consequently mine awareness programmes for children are routinely designed using adult data.4 To overcome this gap, we have studied the determinants of landmine related injuries in Bosnia and Herzegovina during 1991–2000, and compared children with adults.
SUBJECTS, METHODS, AND RESULTS
Since 1996, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Red Cross Society of Bosnia-Hercegovina have maintained an active surveillance system for collecting data on mine related injuries.4 Red Cross field workers based in each municipality (n=128) actively seek out any reports of mine related incidents through local information, hospitals, and organisations involved in such activities. Each report is followed up by a personal visit to the victim’s household by the …
