Brasília, November 28, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Each year more than 1.6 million people around the world lose their lives as a result of violence (physical, psychological, and sexual mistreatment), the National Human Rights secretary, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, pointed out at the opening of a ceremony to launch the World Health Organization's (WHO) World Report on Violence and Health. He informed that half the deaths are related to suicides (815 thousand); a third are homicides (520 thousand); and a fifth, victims of armed conflicts (310 thousand). The majority of deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (1.510 million) and the remainder (149 thousand), in high-income countries.

With regard to the economic impact of violence in six Latin American countries, the study shows that health service expenditures amounted to 1.9% of the Gross Domestic Product in Brazil, 5.0% in Colombia, 4.3% in El Salvador, 1.3% in Mexico, 1.5% in Peru, and 0.3% in Venezuela. (DAS)