USAID Joins International Coalition to Prevent Violence in the Americas

(Regional crime rate said to be on the rise)  (460)

Washington -- The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
has joined a coalition of international agencies that are involved in
helping countries to prevent violence at the community and national
levels.

The Inter-American Coalition for the Prevention of Violence was
created in 2000 to deal with a problem that reportedly encompasses
about 300,000 people, most of them young men, who die each year in the
Americas due to homicides, suicide, and motor vehicle accidents.

USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios, who announced April 12 that his
agency was joining the coalition, argued that "socialization of young
men is the key issue" in preventing violence, which he said has
increased markedly since the end of the Cold War.

USAID joins the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Organization of
American States (OAS), the World Bank, the Inter-American Development
Bank, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization in the coalition. The coalition said it has developed a
"systematic plan" to prevent violence in the Americas by working to
collect data, design new programs, and develop best practices.

A major problem related to violence in the region is said to be
psychological and physical abuse of women at the hands of their
domestic partners. Violence against children is also said to be
prevalent, while juvenile gang violence has become a huge social
problem in many countries throughout the Americas.

OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria said crime rates are as much as
six times higher in the Americas than in other regions. He said that
while the roots of the problem are complex, "the situation is quite
critical and is visibly deteriorating." Most countries, he said, "lack
a systematic effort to prevent violence and no one feels responsible
for the problem."

The CDC estimates that 5,000 people around the world die each day from
homicides, suicide, or war. "Violence is an unacceptable global public
health problem that is preventable," the CDC added. The agency said
that Latin America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa have the
world's highest homicide rates.
  
PAHO said: "Violence is a serious problem in the Americas and the
nature of the topic lends itself to a multi-agency approach. It is
critical that we have some idea of the risk factors, and we need good
data, especially on domestic violence and child abuse."

Violence, PAHO said, "is a learned behavior, but it can be unlearned
through health and education approaches."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)