Laser International launches Helmet Vaccine Coalition Senegal with a Helmets for Kids ceremony and a concert
18/03/2010
18 March 2010, Ziguinchor Senegal – On 20 March 2010 the Global Helmet Vaccine Initiative in co-ordination with Laser International and the Ministry of Transportation launches its first in-country project, the Senegal Helmet Vaccine Coalition to reduce traumatic brain injury and fatalities caused by road crashes. Funded by the FIA Foundation and the World Bank Global Road Safety Facility, the national project is part of the Global Helmet Vaccine Initiative, which aims to promote motorcycle helmet wearing throughout the developing world creating partnerships with government ministries, the private sector and non-governmental organizations.
The launch will include the donation of 1,250 helmets to school children and a concert featuring Senegalese musician DJ Awadi. Both events will be held in Ziguinchor, one of the areas of Senegal most affected by road traffic crashes involving motorcyclists. A public relations campaign, carried out before and after the events, will highlight the message of the launch and increase awareness of the Helmet Vaccine Coalition Senegal.
“We need a hard-hitting campaign that will instill in people the realization that serious crashes can and do happen. Our challenge is to overcome the objections and the lack of education of people who do not wear helmets, and stop this growing public health crisis in Senegal,” says Greig Craft, CEO of the Global Helmet Vaccine Initiative.
“Injuries and fatalities resulting from head trauma in road traffic crashes are becoming increasingly troubling public health challenges in Senegal. Implementing helmet and traffic safety education programs will save lives and prevent this issue from reaching epidemic levels” says Ndèye Awa Sarr, President of Laser International.
“We are honored that the Global Helmet Vaccine Initiative has focused on Senegal as an implementing country in 2010; the government, the public sector and the private sector are all dedicated to improving the road safety situation in Senegal and we will support the Helmet Vaccine Coalition in Senegal with every resource we have available,” says Farba Senghor, Minister of Transport in Senegal.
“Encouraging widespread helmet use can be a cost-effective way to quickly reduce road casualties during the Decade of Action. We encourage other donors and governments to support the Global Helmet Vaccine Initiative. With sufficient funding and political determination GHVI can work with countries like Senegal, and NGOs like Laser International, to build sustainable programs to deliver safe and affordable crash helmets,” says David Ward, Director General of the FIA Foundation.
For the Editor
About GHVI:The Global Helmet Vaccine Initiative (GHVI) is an international movement to halt the public health epidemic caused by traffic crash fatalities and injuries in developing countries worldwide. With the mission of “a helmet on every head in the Decade of Action for Road Safety”, GHVI partners with local NGOs, government officials and the private sector in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America to implement helmet distribution and traffic safety education programs.
The Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIP Foundation), in collaboration with the FIA Foundation and the World Bank Global Road Safety Facility, launched GHVI at the first Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Moscow in November 2009. GHVI implements road safety programs piloted in Vietnam by the AIP Foundation with the support of global and local road safety stakeholders. Since the launch, the Inter-American Development Bank has joined the GHVI partnership. Senegal, Cambodia, Vietnam and Nicaragua have been identified as the target implementing countries for 2010.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Julia Bakutis
Development & Communications Manager
Asia Injury Prevention Foundation
Julia.bakutis@aipf-vietnam.org
+84 (0)8 6299 1409 ext. 111
www.helmetvaccine.org
