Bangladesh Health and Injury Survey Report on Children
The Bangladesh Health and Injury Survey (BHIS) is the largest injury survey ever
conducted at the community level in a developing country, with a sample size of 171,366
households and a total surveyed population of 819,429. The survey, conducted between
January and December of 2003, included all age groups; 43 percent (351,651) of the
surveyed population were children. Children are defined in this Report as infants and
children of all ages, up to their 18th birthday (0-17 years old).
The BHIS characterises injuries in all age groups, looking at moderate, major, serious,
severe, and fatal injuries in detail to better determine the risk factors and some of the
social and economic costs related to these injuries. As children represent almost half (47
percent) of the population of Bangladesh, the epidemiology of both fatal and non-fatal
injury in the 0-17 age group is of enormous importance to the country.
The survey documented an overall child injury rate of 1,592/100,000 children per year.
This means that almost two in every 100 children were injured significantly enough to
require medical care, or lost at least three days of school or work in the year before the
survey. There were over 30,000 children fatally injured in the year before the survey, that
is, roughly 83 children per day, or three children per hour.
The BHIS addresses all causes of death and helps characterise the causes within each
age group. Communicable and non-communicable disease is still considered a major
concern for children, especially infants. However, a newly identified threat is significantly
challenging the placement of this concern. Injury, as documented by this survey, now
accounts for 38 percent of all classifiable deaths in children aged 1-17. Not surprisingly,
the proportion of injury-related mortality increases as children get older with injuries
causing 2 percent of infant deaths, 29 percent of 1-4 year old deaths, 48 percent of 5-9
year old deaths, 52 percent of 10-14 year old deaths, and 64 percent of 15-17 year old
deaths. The survey supports the observation that injury is a stage of life issue, and that
all children must be considered at risk, not just the under-fives.
Full report is available at:
Bangladesh Health and Injury Survey Report on Children