Violence is a global public health problem. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every year 1.6 million people are killed by violence. WHO Director-General Lee Jong-wook said at the launch that 1,400 people are killed every day by interpersonal violence, which also causes untold injuries and suffering. WHO defines interpersonal violence as "violence inflicted by another individual or by a small group of individuals where there is no clearly defined political motive".

The Director of the WHO Department of Injuries and Violence Prevention, Dr. Etienne Krug, said GIVPA will bring together "strong partners in research and data collection, training, advocacy and prevention programmes", adding that "the continuing high trends of violence will not be reversed" without a commitment to cooperate and invest in prevention. More than forty countries have already agreed to undertake violence prevention activities, with more than fifteen Governments having drafted national plans of action for prevention. A number of others have initiated national reports on the situation in their own countries.