States should commit to recording deaths and injuries from armed violence systematically and comprehensively. They should ensure that these systems are set up as early as possible in order to be able to facilitate the verification of the cases, provide an opportunity for trend analysis and inform well-timed action.
Donor countries, international and civil society organisations should commit financial and personnel resources to support affected countries in setting up locally-owned and sustainable casualty recording systems. A key challenge is the pervasive lack of trained personnel in casualty recording and the impact that this has on sustaining recording initiatives in the longer term. Training more personnel will also go a long way towards addressing the issue of under-reporting. Academics and researchers can support a call for stronger casualty recording practices by stressing how counting the cost helps society understand the deep causal relationships between violence and other variables.
COUNTING THE COST: CASUALTY RECORDING PRACTICES AND REALITIES, p. 40
