Give a Vietnamese child a helmet; save a life

As part of our efforts to protect children on the road in Vietnam, AIP Foundation conducts training workshops for journalists and policy makers with the aim of building capacity and enhancing the implementation of child helmet regulation and awareness raising. The trainings are part of our “Children also need a helmet” National Campaign, and provide participants with road safety and helmet use knowledge in order to enable them to maximize their roles in road safety behavior change communications and child helmet use promoting actions.

As the results of our trainings conducted in three major cities (Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, and Hanoi) in 2013, the government and journalist trainees reported that they have effectively applied what they learned in their work and found these takeaways extremely useful. Within six months after the trainings, the journalists produced 80 news articles, features, and TV documentaries promoting child helmet use awareness. Meanwhile, the government officials applied the training takeaways in a variety of activities, such as training others, developing communications plans, and assessing the current helmet use situation. These exciting outcomes are tangible indicators of our program’s efficiency and incentives for us to conduct more capacity building programs. 

From the success of previous program, AIP Foundation is bringing capacity building trainings to six additional provinces in Vietnam. In June 2014, we met with road safety stakeholders, including government representatives, and the local media in these provinces. At the meeting, provincial governors showed their interest in the project and requested AIP Foundation to conduct road safety programs for local primary schools. Each province expressed their commitment to developing an action plan to increase local child helmet rates.

Our efforts to put a helmet on every child and protect children from brain injury cannot be achieved without the critical support and coordination of our stakeholders, especially media members and government officials. Our cooperation has been generating positive impacts and bringing us closer to a future of safer roads for children.

Links:

• Asia Injury Prevention Foundation's website
• "Children also need a helmet" campaign's website

This year, AIP Foundation has more support than ever before for helmet safety for children in Vietnam!

In March, AIP Foundation representatives attended workshops on child helmet use along with key stakeholders, including the World Health Organization and Vietnam Red Cross. At the workshops, stakeholders brainstormed solutions to advocate for enforcement of child helmet regulation across the country. The workshops resulted in commitment from all stakeholders to follow-up on specific actionable items to increase child helmet use rates nationwide. AIP Foundation has since developed a concrete action plan to continue advocacy and targeted interventions in 2014 and beyond.

AIP Foundation has also increased its efforts to encourage parents to be role models for their children by wearing standard helmets. On March 28, AIP Foundation organized a stakeholder orientation workshop to launch the new Helmets for Families program, which not only provides students and teachers with standard helmets, but also offers parents the opportunity to exchange their low quality helmets with standard ones at a subsidized price. This program aims to change behavior among children and parents, as well as raise awareness about the safety benefits of helmets that meet the national standard.

As AIP Foundation donates more and more helmets to children in Vietnam each year, it is important that it increases support for helmet safety for children. With more stakeholders, partners, and supporters dedicated to the cause, the greatest impact is achieved: children’s lives saved. Help us to continue the momentum and support helmet safety for children by donating now!