Safe Kids New Zealand

Injury Facts

• Accidental injury is the leading cause of death for children ages one to 14 in New Zealand. In 1998, 93 children died in New Zealand from accidental injuries.

• The leading cause of injury death was motor vehicle crashes, followed by drowning, suffocation and burns.

• The annual cost of child injury deaths in New Zealand is an estimated $56 million (U.S. Dollars).

Who We Are

Safe Kids New Zealand is devoted to reducing the incidence and severity of accidental injury to children in New Zealand .  Safe Kids New Zealand is a program of Starship Children's Health, which works to keep children from birth to age 14 safe from preventable injury

What We Do

With 80 coalitions operating throughout the country, Safe Kids New Zealand strives to meet the needs of a diverse population, including the indigenous Maori and Pacific Islands communities who are at greater risk for accidental injuries.

Where are we now? ( July 2005 - Recent Programs)

Safekids Campaign Focus on Pedestrians Launches in NZ

The Safekids Campaign in New Zealand was launched on October 14,2006 with a year-long focus on pedestrian safety and prevention of falls.
           
Ten communities throughout New Zealand held “Black Friday” events to raise awareness of child pedestrian injury. At events in Ashburton, Auckland, Dunedin, Fairlie, Fielding, Oamaru, Rotorua, Tauranga, Timaru and Waimate, local children and coalition members presented mayors or Territorial Local Authorityrepresentatives with a wreath in memory of child pedestrians killed on the country’s roads.
           
In addition to highlighting child safety, the events aimed to provide coalitions the opportunity to advocate for safety improvements. In New Zealand, TLAs are involved in road engineering and road safety, and can set local speed limits for drivers.
           
Although it wasn’t Friday the 13th, Safekids Campaign National Coordinator Joy Gunn said the concept of a “Black Friday” was chosen for impact, and coalition events featured black balloons, black information cards and children dressed in black.
More than 100 coalition members and 200 children participated.
           
In Dunedin, the southernmost city to take part in the events, the former minister of transport (now minister of health), the Hon. Pete Hodgson, watched as 120 children released black balloons to represent those injured or killed on the city’s roads in the last 10 years. 
           
Tips for  keeping kids safe on the roads were distributed on bright yellow cards. In most communities, these were written by children who wanted mayors and their TLAs to think about them as road users. Solutions suggested included reducing speed around schools, putting in more pedestrian crossings, making roads safer and watching out for kids on the road. Checklists with ideas for TLAs and case studies of child pedestrian program were also presented.
           
The launches attracted public and media attention and, in some places, officials’ promises that the council would look into pedestrian safety issues.

Dishwasher Powder Poisonings Brought to the Forefront

In January 2005, Safe Kids New Zealand brought to light concerns about the increasing number of caustic poisonings to children from automatic dishwasher powders. Doctors at the country's national pediatric hospital, Starship Children's Health, initially raised concerns after the admission of five children in four months with severe caustic burns to their throats . Safe Kids New Zealand presented a position paper to government agencies on this issue, calling for mandatory child-resistant packaging on all automatic dishwasher powders. Powders are currently packaged under a voluntary standard. Safe Kids New Zealand is continuing work with these agencies. It also undertook a national media campaign to highlight the dangers of dishwasher powders swallowed by children and prevention measures. Major television, radio and print media across the country covered this issue.

Safe Kids New Zealand Launches Year-Long Campaign

In October 2004, Safe Kids New Zealand launched its year-long Safe Kids Campaign at Kids First Hospital (the national pediatric burn treatment centre) with the assistance of Minister for Police and Civil Defence, the Honourable George Hawkins. The campaign, with a year-long focus on prevention of childhood burns and safety of motor vehicles passengers under 15 years old, is supported by the Ministry of Health, the New Zealadn Fire Service, New Zealand Police, Land Transport New Zealand, the Accident Compensation Corporation, Plunket, Age Concern, Auckland Burns Support Group Charitable Trust and the Injury Prevention Network of Aotearoa. More than 90 community coalitions will participate in campaign activities.

Child Restraint Clinics