NGO: Accident-related death rate of children double compared to developed countries

About 200 Czech children die of accidents each year and another 3,000 suffer permanent disabilities, Jan Kostner from the Czech NGO Childhood without Accidents told reporters on Thursday. The death rate is double in comparison to other developed countries. The NGO said most of these accidents can be prevented; in 1997, the Czech Republic ranked 22nd with more than 490 accident-related children deaths, while in 1998, around 180 children died of accidents, and the country ranked 8th. Mr Kostner said the accident-related death rated could further be lowered by prevention programmes. The major Czech health insurer, VZP, will this year spend some 15 million crowns on such campaigns.