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Global Newsletter April 2017 |
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Dear Friends and Supporters, We were thrilled to start this month by supporting the launch of the SAFE STEPS Road Safety campaign in Vietnam during an event led by actress and United Nations Global Road Safety Ambassador, Michelle Yeoh. She joined us, as well as other international advocates and 1,500 university students, in Ho Chi Minh City for the event. Prudence Foundation is leading the pan-Asian initiative in partnership with National Geographic and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). In Vietnam, we also kicked-off a public awareness campaign that addresses drowsy driving among truck drivers. In Thailand, we trained trained more than 300 parents and teachers on our specialized road safety curriculum so they can keep children safe on their communities’ roads. We’re only a few weeks away from the 4th UN Global Road Safety Week, which will be an incredible opportunity for international advocates to come together to raise awareness about the importance of saving lives on the world’s roads. This year’s celebration, which will promote the importance of slowing down vehicle speeds to keep all road users safe, will take place from 8-14 May, and we’re hosting diverse events in each of our program countries. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for live updates on our events – and, join us as we #SlowDown to save lives. Kind regards, Mirjam Sidik
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Global |
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Vietnam |
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Cambodia |
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Thailand |
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China |
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Employment Opportunities
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Global |
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Photo of the month – Bringing helmet safety awareness to Washington
AIP Foundation’s former Development and Compliance Coordinator, Katherine Klaric (left), joined Dr. Kee Park, MD (right), to present research conducted at a hospital in Cambodia exploring traumatic brain injuries and helmet use, during the the Consortium of Universities for Global Health Annual Conference. Johns Hopkins University hosted the event, which took place in Washington, D.C. Dr. Park is an accomplished neurosurgeon and is currently the Paul Farmer Global Surgery Scholar at Harvard Medical School. The study, titled “Impact of Helmets on Clinical Presentation and Outcomes of Traumatic Brain Injury in Motorcycle Operators in Cambodia,” was authored by Klaric and Dr. Park, as well as Saksham Gupta, BA; Vycheth Iv MD, PhD; and Mark G. Shrime, MD, MPH, PhD. Read the full abstract here. |
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AIP Foundation gears up for the 4th UN Global Road Safety Week
AIP Foundation’s country offices are gearing up for the upcoming 4th UN Global Road Safety Week, which will run worldwide from 8-14 May, and will spread awareness about managing vehicle speeds to #SlowDown and save lives. We have events planned in each of our program countries, including:
Slow Down to Save Lives – Campaign Launch
Young Ambassadors for Road Safety's Campaign to Slow Down
Save Lives. Slow Down. Online Khmer Initiative
“Slow Down to Stay Safe” Children’s Road Safety Celebration
“Get Home Safe” Festival
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for live updates on our events |
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Road safety NGOs gather in Malaysia for biennial meeting
Representatives from AIP Foundation collaborated with fellow road safety NGOs and shared lessons learned from its own initiatives as part of the Fifth Global Meeting of Nongovernmental Organizations Advocating for Road Safety and Road Victims in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The biennial meeting was organized by the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety, the Ministry of Transport of Malaysia, and the World Health Organization. AIP Foundation sent three staff members as part of its delegation. Mirjam Sidik, CEO, discussed the organization’s pedestrian safety and government advocacy work during a session hosted by the Global Initiative for Child Health and Mobility. Pagna Kim, Cambodia Country Director, presented on school-based programs promoting child helmet use. Ratanawadee Winther, Thailand Chairperson, participated in a panel that focused on the role gender plays in road safety issues. On the final day of the meeting, AIP Foundation delegates joined fellow attendees in signing the Declaration of Malaysia, which states the commitment of the road safety community and other key stakeholders to implementing practical, evidence-based measures to improve road safety and post-crash response. |
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Country managers enhance leadership skills during international workshop
AIP Foundation’s Vietnam National Program Manager, Phuong Dinh, and Thailand Country Manager, Oratai Junsuwanaruk, built their capacities to affect change and create evidence-based programs during the Global Road Safety Leadership Course. The Global Road Safety Partnership and Johns Hopkins International Research Unit hosted the international workshop, with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies. |
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Australian government-sponsored fellow joins Ho Chi Minh City office
Gillian Eborn joined AIP Foundation’s Ho Chi Minh City office as a Policy and Research Advisor. She comes to the organization through the Australian Volunteers for International Development program, which is sponsored by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Eborn brings more than 25 years of marketing and communications experience, and has been working and volunteering with nonprofits in Vietnam for the past three years. During her time with AIP Foundation, she will support its pedestrian and industrial safety programs. |
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Related news: Data released on global health funding shows disproportionate resources contributed to fight Noncommunicable Diseases
A new data visualization analyzing financing for global health shows the comparably low amount of resources contributed to fighting noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in relation to other issues, such as HIV/Aids and malaria. In 2016, only 1.71% of the $37.6 billion USD contributed across all focus areas supported activities combatting NCDs. This alarmingly low amount of support is severely disproportionate to the number of people affected by NCDs, which accounted for 70% of all deaths worldwide in 2015. These deaths also disproportionately occurred in low- and middle-income countries. Road crash injuries and fatalities fall into this category. Each year, it’s estimated that 1.25 million people die and another 50 million are injured on the world’s roads. The data visualization was published by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation housed at the University of Washington, Seattle. Explore the in-depth chart here. |
Vietnam |
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Vietnamese government launches action plan for international road safety week
Vietnam's National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other organizations, announced its plans to participate in the 4th UN Global Road Safety Week, which will promote the message of slowing down to save lives. To align with this international initiative, related activities hosted in Vietnam will cover four key points: enhancing legislation; raising awareness and educating the public about related traffic laws; reorganizing transportation system and upgrading infrastructure; and investigating and handling traffic violations. AIP Foundation staff, including our President and Founder, Greig Craft, attended the press conference hosted by the NTSC and WHO in Hanoi. |
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Imperial College Business School students visit Protec factory in Hanoi
Nearly 70 MBA candidates from Imperial College Business School at Imperial College London visited Protec’s helmet factory in Hanoi to learn the facility’s social enterprise model. Greig Craft, President and Founder of AIP Foundation, discussed both Protec’s and the AIP Foundation’s histories with the students. He also showed them around the factory, which is committed to maintaining fair and inclusive employment policies – 30% of its workers have physical disabilities. Since its inception more than 15 years ago, Protec has produced nearly 6.5 million helmets. |
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Michelle Yeoh joins 1,500 university students to launch SAFE STEPS Road Safety campaign in Vietnam
Actress and United Nations Global Road Safety Ambassador, Michelle Yeoh, joined 1,500 university students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to launch the SAFE STEPS Road Safety campaign, a pan-Asian public service initiative spearheaded by Prudence Foundation in partnership with National Geographic and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). Mr. Jean Todt, President of FIA and United Nations Special Envoy for Road Safety, joined her and as other distinguished guests at the event. Globally, more than 1.25 million people are killed on the roads annually and nearly 50 million injured. Road crashes are the leading cause of death of 15 and 29 year-olds, and the majority of these accidents take place in low- and middle-income countries. SAFE STEPS is a series of public service announcements with the objective of raising awareness and providing clear, educational information on common road safety issues. AIP Foundation is supporting the launch of the initiative in Vietnam. “In my time as a road safety advocate, I have seen private companies, governments, NGOs, and communities come together to develop creative solutions that save lives. This campaign is a powerful example of the multi-sector cooperation that is necessary in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,” said Michelle Yeoh, SAFE STEPS Road Safety Ambassador and United Nations Global Road Safety Ambassador. View more photos from the event here. Read the full press release here. |
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Campaign aims to address drowsy driving among truck drivers in industrial port community
A new safety campaign is using billboards and a public service announcement to address drowsy driving among industrial truck drivers in the Cai Mep port complex area. The Vietnamese-language campaign’s slogan, which translates to “A road crash can happen in the blink of an eye,” is featured on billboards installed along a major highway, and in a public service radio announcement aired on the Voice of Vietnam. AIP Foundation and the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) are leading the initiative as part of Lifting Safety, in partnership with the Netherlands-based APM Terminals, which holds a 49% share in Cai Mep International Terminal in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Vietnam. The campaign’s radio announcement features a truck driver and his family discussing their experiences with the dangers of drowsy driving. It also addresses the consequences of the unsafe behavior, which causes a driver to become distracted, slows his or her reaction time, and affects his or her ability to make safe driving decisions. Despite these risks, truck drivers often do not rest frequently enough while transporting cargo loads and containers along the country’s roadways, representing potential danger to themselves, and to others. The Lifting Safety program was launched in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province in December 2016 during a road safety program that included interaction between truck drivers and primary school students. Recently, the program hosted truck driver trainings that taught defensive driving techniques. The percentage of truck drivers with an excellent or good knowledge of defensive driving skills increased by nearly 40 percentage points after the course. APM Terminals, headquartered in The Netherlands, is an international terminal operator with facilities in 69 countries. Read the full press release here. |
Cambodia |
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More than 220 Cambodian airport staff gain road safety skills
AIP Foundation provided road safety training to more than 220 staff from three major Cambodian airports from 21-30 March. The workshops provided an overview of the key road safety issues on Cambodia’s roads as well as practical tips on how to drive safely. Outside the classroom, airport staff participated in some interactive and fun activities demonstrating the risks of distracted driving and how to identify and avoid blind spots. The trainings were conducted at locations in Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh City, and Siem Reap. An important aspect of the workshops was the opportunity for participants to reflect on their driving behaviors and discuss their own experiences with road crashes. Participants discussed situations they and their loved ones had been involved in. Approximately 40% of the participants said they had personally experienced road crashes, while more than 50% deplored that their friends and relatives had been involved in such predicaments. At the end of the training, participants made personal commitments about safe driving behaviors they would adopt, such as always wearing a helmet, reducing their vehicle speeds, eliminating distractions to stay focused on the road, and sharing what they had learned with family and friends. In a short remark at the beginning of the initiative, Éric Delobel, Cambodia Airport’s CEO, stressed that safety is the organization's number one priority. In that perspective, partnering with AIP Foundation, a leading advocate for road safety, makes sense and contributes to achieving the Zero Accident Goal. View more photos from the training here. |
Thailand |
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More than 300 teachers, parents trained in road safety curriculum in southern Thailand
As part of the recently launched Phase II of the Street Wise program, 80 teachers and 254 parents were trained in a specialized road safety curriculum so they can educate students to be safe road users. The teachers were taught how to administer a road safety simulation activity as well as how to use the curriculum in their classrooms. The parents were briefed on the program and encouraged to volunteer in classrooms to assist the teachers. AIP Foundation has been implementing Street Wise in partnership with Chevron in Songkhla Province since 2014. View more photos from the trainings here. |
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Related news: Road crashes claim 390 lives during Thailand's Songkran festival
Source: Xinhuanet – Asia & Pacific Edition, 18 April, 2017 Road crashes during the Songkran festival have claimed 390 lives, with drunk driving remaining the major killer, Thailand's road safety center said on Tuesday. According to the Road Safety Directing Center of the Interior Ministry, there are totally 3,690 crashes from the water splashing festival from April 11 to 17, also causing 3,808 injuries. Authorities said most of the crashes stemmed from drunk driving (1,589 cases), followed by 1,028 speeding cases while reckless cutting in front of other cars also contributed 547 cases. Read the full article here. |
China |
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Walk Wise key players participate in biannual stakeholder meeting
Twenty-three safety directors from Walk Wise program schools participated in a biannual stakeholder meeting to foster communication regarding road safety efforts among community members. The Kaizhou District Education Department assisted AIP Foundation in organizing the meeting at Zhaojia No. 2 Primary School. During the meeting, participants discussed the program’s successes thus far and feedback on completed initiatives. AIP Foundation and Chevron launched Walk Wise in 2012. Since its inception, the program has worked with more than 120,000 students, trained more than 1,500 teachers, and collaborated with more than 260,000 parents and community members. |
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Nearly 250 motorcycle helmets donated to parents in mountainous region of China
As part of the school-based Walk Wise program, a partnership with Chevron, 246 parents received quality motorcycle helmets to keep them safe while driving on the mountainous roads of Kaizhou District in China. Motorcycles are an important method of transportation for low-income families in the area. Walk Wise primarily focuses on providing students, teachers, and community members with pedestrian safety education and trainings. Starting in 2015, the program began a small helmet safety component to address another critical issue on the Kaizhou District roads. AIP Foundation and Chevron launched Walk Wise in 2012. Since its inception, the program has worked with more than 120,000 students, trained more than 1,500 teachers, and collaborated with more than 260,000 parents and community members. |
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