World Health Organisation (WHO) Safe Communities Movement
In the early 1970s interdisciplinary scientific research programmes at Lund University in Sweden pioneered community-based accident and injury prevention programmes. The Falkoping study, a community oriented programme approach, proved highly successful reducing injuries by almost 30% on average after two years of intervention.
The Manifesto for Safe Communities was developed during the First World Conference on Accidents and Injury Prevention, held at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden in 1989. WHO "Safe Communities" approach injury prevention and control in a comprehensive way covering all ages, environments and situations. Formally designated ‘Safe Communities’ achieve safe community status measured against the twelve criteria developed by WHO for safe communities.
In Australia formally designated "Safe Communities" include IIawarra (NSW), City of Hume (VIC)(formerly Shire of Bulla), Noarlunga (SA), Shire of La Trobe (VIC) and Parkes (NSW). The Monash University Accident Research Centre was formally designated an ‘Affiliated Safe Community Support Centre’ in 1997.
The Safe Communities concept was formally initiated in 1989 as a response to a successful pilot project in Sweden in which a 23% decrease in total population injury rates was achieved. The Safe Communities ideology stipulated that safety can be achieved through intergrated, collaborative efforts that are implemented in a supportive social, cultural, and political environment and that community members play a leading role for injury prevention. Over 220 local communities have been formally worldwide designated as Safe Communities accross 30 countries. With 100 communities under preparation and working to become a designed Safe Community.18 Affliliated Support Centres around the world. Recent systematic reviews provide promising evidence for the effectiveness of the Safe Communities model.
The WHO Collaborating Centre on Community Safety Promotion is part of the Division of Social Medicine at the Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. Visit the web site of the Karolinska Institutet for further information on Safe Communities and the Safe Community News.
