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There are on average 13 violent incidents recorded per month, per NHS Trust; 64% percent are against nursing staff.

Nearly 20% of young people in the UK, live in households living below the official poverty line. (United Nations report June 2000)

38,000 children were on the child protection register in England on 31st March 1999. (Dept of Health figure)

Nearly 300 million people contract malaria each year and over 1 million die from the disease, more than 90% of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. (WHO).

Suicide is now the second most common cause of death, (after accidents) for young people aged 15-24.

By the age of 15 a third of girls and over a quarter of boys are regular smokers.

In spring 1998 more than 5 million people usually worked more than 48hrs in their main job.

One fifth of those with phobia, depressive episode and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder had a particularly small circle of family and friends (less than 4 adults) giving support, compared with one in twenty of those with no neurotic disorder.

In spring 1998 just over one in ten people lived alone. (Social Trends 29, ONS)

Over half a million mothers die in childbirth each year, mainly through lack of adequate ante-natal care. (WHO)

The number of long-stay beds for mentally ill people fell by about 45% between 1991/2 and 1996/7.

Specialist equipment for children without speech, can cost up to £9,000 and half of their families have no support in buying it. (Scope)

36,000 people are diagnosed blind, or partially sighted each year. (Action for Blind People)

Over half of all visually impaired people live at the margins of poverty. (Action for Blind People)

The USA spends an average of $4,200 per head on healthcare each year, whilst countries like Yemen, Afghanistan, Indonesia and China spend less than $20 per year for each man, woman and child.(WHO)

Malaria-endemic countries are some of the world’s most impoverished, yet in countries like Nigeria, treatment, or prevention can account for over 10% of total household expenditure. (WHO)

Some 48,000 embryos which were no longer needed for in vitro fertilisation treatment were used in research between August 1991 and March 1998 (Dept of Health)

75% of visually impaired people of working age, are unemployed. (Action for Blind People)

8.7 million people in the UK are deaf, or hard of hearing. (RNID)

Malaria is directly responsible for one in five childhood deaths in Africa and indirectly contributes to illness and deaths from respiratory infections, diarrhoeal-diseases and malnutrition. (WHO)

The UK has an ageing population: the number of people aged 65 and over increased by a quarter between 1971 & 1997, to 9.3 million (total population 59.0 million). (Social Trends 29, ONS)

In 1998, 27% of men and 15% of women, weekly exceeded 21 and 14 units of alcohol respectively.

In 1995 15% of adults reported having no natural teeth, compared to 26% in 1983. Women are more likely to report having regular check-ups than men (61% compared to 47%).

Of 2,000 adults interviewed, 90% said they were aware of the publicity about the risks of excessive exposure to the sun. Despite the levels of awareness, over a third of men and around half of women, who do not have naturally black or brown skin, tried to get a tan the previous year. Around a quarter of the men and a fifth of the women were sunburnt in the previous year.

The 115 lowest income countries, which together account for 18% of world income, only spend 11% of global health expenditure. Yet they have 84% of the world’s population and bear 93% of the world’s disease burden. (World Health Report 2000)

In 1998, 40% of adults said they had suffered from backache lasting more than one day in the previous twelve months; 15% of back pain sufferers said they were in constant pain throughout the year.

Annual deaths from tuberculosis amount to nearly 2 million worldwide; for diabetes the figure is 1.5 million. (WHO)

There are 22 million asylum seekers, displaced people and refugees around the world (Tear Fund)