A recent study by Zulfah Albertyn-Blanchard, a PhD candidate from the University of Cape Town (UCT), has highlighted a concerning trend in child mortality in Cape Town.
The study, titled ‘The spatial distribution of injury burden of children in the western geographic service area, City of Cape Town (2011–2015),’ reveals that road traffic crashes are the second leading cause of death among children in Cape Town, with more than half of these fatalities being unintentional.
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The research, focusing on the period between 2011 and 2015, found that the Klipfontein sub-health district, particularly Nyanga, had the greatest burden of child injury deaths.
Here, homicides, predominantly from sharp-force injuries like stabbings, were more common than any other type of injury death among children, especially adolescent males aged 15 to 17 years.
Albertyn-Blanchard’s study, the first of its kind in South Africa to use a spatial conceptual framework for childhood injury mortality, highlights the stark disparities in injury deaths based on age and gender. Most transport-related deaths occurred during daylight hours, affecting all age groups.
The study pointed out that Nyanga’s high rate of childhood injury deaths is exacerbated by the area’s severe deprivation, poverty and structural inequalities, leading to increased violence and safety concerns in the community.
Using data from the Salt River Medico-legal Mortuary and Childsafe, the study conducted an exhaustive analysis of the injury profile and mortality of children aged 17 and under. It also employed spatial analysis to assess the socio-economic and geographical variables impacting transport-related injury mortality.
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Albertyn-Blanchard emphasised the urgent need for more comprehensive and representative national injury surveillance to be integrated with routine health information systems.
‘The monitoring of child injury burden in South Africa needs to be strengthened,’ she said.
She advocates for child-centric safety measures, urging collaboration across sectors like health, urban planning, transport and education to create safer environments for children.
Professor Shanaaz Mathews, Albertyn-Blanchard’s supervisor and a leading expert in children’s rights, lauded the study for its focus on child-centred analysis of injury mortality data.
‘Children have for too long been invisible in our injury burden response, and early intervention to avert these preventable deaths is critical,’ said Professor Mathews.
Albertyn-Blanchard will graduate on 14 December with a PhD in paediatrics.
‘This PhD journey has taught me the importance of viewing the world through a child-rights lens,’ she said.
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