Some good news to start the week: New Zealand now much safer for children as injury cases plunge https://t.co/gVJwFAA2D2 via @nzherald

— Safekids Aotearoa (@safekidsnz) February 8, 2016

Child safety advocates are hailing the reduction in child deaths and hospital admissions from unintentional injuries, but say much more must be done to protect children.

A just-released report says that on average, about 80 children a year up to age 14 die from unintentional injuries. In the latest reported year, 2013, there were 38 deaths, down from 126 in 1989.

Hospital admissions for non-fatal unintentional injuries peaked in 1995 for this age group, with 11,006 patients, and by 2014 this had declined to 7290.

Deaths and non-fatal unintentional injuries have declined for most causes including motor-vehicle crashes and this is in line with the long-term decline in the road toll from its peak in the early 1970s.

An analysis by Safekids Aotearoa, the Starship hospital’s child safety unit, shows that the annual per-capita rate of unintentional-injury deaths declined between 2001 and 2010, from 10.5, to 8.5, for every 100,000 children.