Give a Vietnamese child a helmet; save a life

Every year, more than 2,000 children and young people die from road traffic crashes in Vietnam—averaging about five deaths per day. Many of these fatalities are the result of wearing helmets that do not adequately protect the head. For anyone on a motorcycle, correct helmet use can reduce the risk of death in a crash by more than 6 times and the risk of brain injury by up to 74%.

As part of the Viet Nam Project 2000 Road Safety Partnership—which prioritizes correct use of quality helmets—AIP Foundation and the World Health Organization (WHO) Viet Nam hosted two technical workshops in Ha Noi on March 18. The workshops brought together government agencies, academic institutions, civil society organizations, development partners, national and international experts, and the private sector to address two critical road safety gaps: child helmet standards and safe school zones.

Participants received key information about the two areas from leading road safety experts and engaged in open, interactive discussions to identify and prioritize next actions to further the efforts’ goals. Key activities from both workshops included: 

Child helmet standards workshop: 

• Panel discussion about technical considerations for child helmet standards in Vietnam 
• Plenary discussion focused on priority actions and roadmap for developing child helmet standards 

Safe school zones workshop: 

• Examination of a Safe School Zones model under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety facilitated by representatives from HealthBridge and Ha Noi Department of Construction 
• Introduction and overview of the Safe School Zones Guide by Mrs. Bui Thi Diem Hong, Senior Program Manager of AIP Foundation 
• Technical discussion on Safe School Zones challenges, opportunities, and scalability 

Through coordinated, evidence-based and results-focused actions and activities, the workshop aided in the progress of the Initiative’s ultimate goal: to reduce the tragic loss of children and young people who die on Viet Nam’s roads to zero. 

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