Most injuries are predictable and preventable. We all need to take steps to reduce injury by managing our personal risk and creating safer environments.

Every day in the news, we hear about car crashes, a fall, a house fire, a drowning, an incident in a workplace, or a sports injury. Though many people see them as unrelated to each other – they are all injuries, either intentional or unintentional.

The Safer Communities and Injury Prevention health promotion activities focus on populations most at risk of injury such as children, youth and the elderly, and on specific settings including schools, workplaces and recreation settings. Within these settings the health Promotion works in collaboration with other agencies to identify risk factors and actively promotes strategies and initiatives that will reduce these risks.

We know that we live in a vibrant and positive community but there is always more we can do to promote the social, environmental and physical wellbeing for the people in Whanganui district.

Our community already conducts a range of safety initiatives focused on residents, businesses and community groups, including programmes around safety and wellbeing, family violence, road safety, fire safety, child safety, workplace health and safety, emergency planning, alcohol and drug misuse. Many of these are intersectoral approaches. Through collaboration we maximise the impact of our work to achieve a significant and sustainable improvement to living conditions within Whanganui.

Whanganui is an International Safe Community (ISC). ISC is a World Health Organisation concept that recognises safety as 'a universal concern and a responsibility for all'. Part of the project is also linked to the New Zealand Injury Prevention Strategy (2003). As a result of this Whanganui has developed a Safer Whanganui plan which strives to make Whanganui a safer place. Accreditation by the International Safe Communities Network formalises our commitment to doing all we can to create the safest possible community for those who live, work or visit our community.


Related links

Safe Communities Foundation website
World Health Organisation website
Whanganui District Council website
Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) website


For more information please contact the Te Whatu Ora Whanganui Public Health Centre on 06 348 1775