Give a Vietnamese child a helmet; save a life

Review workshop reveals first-year results of the National Child Helmet Action Plan

A year-end review of the National Child Helmet Action Plan (NCHAP) organized by the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), National Traffic Police (C67), the Ministry of Education and Training, and AIP Foundation gathered stakeholders to discuss key results after one year of implementation. Attended by 130 participants, the workshop was an opportunity for delegates from national and local government agencies to share their experiences in order to develop a plan for the upcoming year.

The NCHAP launched January 2015 with the goal of significantly increasing child helmet wearing rates in Vietnam. The plan presented an opportunity for governmental bodies at the national and local levels, socio-political organizations, and local authorities to collaborate on planning and monitoring child helmet regulation compliance.

Since the implementation of the plan, from March 2014 to December 2015 in Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City, child helmet wearing rates, on average, increased from 36% to 47%.  In 12 other project provinces, child helmet use rates, on average, increased from 32% to 52%.

Due in part to these advances, National Traffic Safety Committee Vice Executive Chairman Dr. Khuat Viet Hung, in a speech to the assembled participants, pledged that the NCHAP will be continued in 2016 and subsequent years.

General Motors Vietnam donates 1,000 helmets with U.S. Ambassador in attendance

General Motors Vietnam (GM Vietnam) is partnering with AIP Foundation to donate 1,000 motorcycle helmets and provide road safety training to students and teachers at the Ai Mo A Primary School in Long Bien District and the Thanh Tri School for Handicapped Children in Thanh Tri District in Hanoi in 2016. The helmet handover ceremony was held February 2, 2016 at Ai Mo A primary school, Long Bien district, Hanoi with participation of U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius as well as representatives from Vietnam’s National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) Dr. Khuat Viet Hung, Vice Executive Chairman, Hanoi Traffic Safety Committee, Department of Education and Training, Hanoi Traffic Police (PC67), Long Bien Bureau of Education and Training, Long Bien People’s Committee, media, students, parents and teachers from two project schools.

VietnamAdvisors calls for investors to help – The Helmet Crisis in Vietnam

Annually, road crashes cause an estimated 22,000 deaths in Vietnam, more than tuberculosis or HIV/AIDS.  Approximately 2,000 children die due to road injury each year, making it the second leading cause of death among Vietnamese children ages 5–14.Road injury costs Vietnam more than 3 billion USD annually, nearly 3% of its GDP.

Though the toll of road crashes outweighs other public health issues, such as HIV/AIDS, which took 14,000 Vietnamese lives in 2009, international development assistance for road injury prevention from 2011 to 2012 is estimated at only 2 million USD. By comparison, the Global Fund, which channels 20% of total aid for HIV/AIDS, provided a 2011-2012 grant of 49 million USD to the Ministry of Health to support HIV/AIDS prevention and care.

Motorcycles account for 95% of registered vehicles in Vietnam, and their users account for 75% of Vietnam’s road traffic fatalities.  Of these, nearly 78% are a result of head injury.  In 2006, motorcycle helmet use in Vietnam was less than 30% on average and 10% on city roads.  Helmet use tended to be higher on roads where use was compulsory. After the enactment of Resolution 32 in December 2007, helmet use immediately increased to 99%.

1,700 participants join the “I Love Helmets” Family Day event to raise awareness about road safety

With support from The UPS Foundation, AIP Foundation held a road safety event with the theme, “I Love Helmets” at Tan Tuc Primary School in Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City. The school is located near Trung Luong Highway, a high-risk traffic area in Ho Chi Minh City, where students face dangers on their daily commute.

The event gathered more than 1,500 students, 200 parents, teachers from primary and junior schools, and representatives from The UPS Foundation and Traffic Safety Committee (TSC). Among the participants were representatives from the Ho Chi Minh City TSC and Jeff McLean, Managing Director of UPS Vietnam. At the event, students and parents participated in several road safety activities that included painting, a fashion show, interactive games, and a road safety knowledge competition in order to promote child helmet use.

AIG celebrates Teacher’s Day by donating 820 quality helmets to students and teachers

In honor of Teacher’s Day, AIP Foundation delivered 820 high-quality helmets to students and teachers at Tan Hiep Primary School. This event, possible thanks to support from AIG, an American multinational insurance company, commemorated the 20th anniversary of normalized diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Vietnam.  This event is the third helmet handover event AIG has sponsored for at-risk school children and teachers. Thus far, AIG has provided 3,036 quality helmets to children and teachers throughout Vietnam.

Students, teachers, and representatives from AIG, the Traffic Safety Committee (TSC), and AIP Foundation attended the event. Among the attendees were Rena Bitter, U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City and Susan E. Loftus, AIG CEO and General Manager at AIG Vietnam.

Abbott expands “Helmets for Families” to Hanoi

AIP Foundation, with support from Abbott, collaborated with the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), and the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) to kick off the Helmets for Families program at Lieu Ninh primary school in Hanoi. This is the first year the Helmets for Families program expands to Hanoi after 2 years of successfully piloting in 4 schools in Ho Chi Minh City and 5 schools in Tra Vinh province. In the 2015-2016 school year, Abbott will hand over more than 4,300 helmets to students and teachers in 2 primary schools in Hanoi and to first grade students in 9 schools in Ho Chi Minh City and Tra Vinh province. In addition, through an exchange program that covers up to 4,100 subsidized helmets, parents can exchange their low quality helmets for high-quality standard helmets for 65% of the original price.

Representatives from the NTSC, the MOET, the Hanoi TSC and DOET, traffic police and local authorities, Abbott, students, parents, and teachers joined the ceremony.