YEAR END REPORT 2008
Asia Injury Prevention Foundation
Hanoi, January 2009
AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 1
Contents I. About AIP Foundation II. Letter from the President III. Vietnam’s Helmet Public Awareness Wearing Campaigns IV. Helmets for Kids V. Traffic Safety Education & Engineering VI. Partnerships & Activities Around the World VII. Non-profit Helmet Factory VIII. 2008 Financials
AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 2
AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 3
II. From the President Road crashes kill 260,000 children every year and injure another 10 million worldwide. They are the leading cause of death among 10-19 year olds and a leading cause of child disability. For every child who dies, 254 need hospital treatment – four of whom are left with a permanent disability. Most common nonfatal injuries include head injuries that could have been prevented by wearing a helmet. Motorization and urbanization are proceeding rapidly while safe mobility – and particularly the safety of children – is seldom taken into account. By the year 2030, road traffic injuries are predicted to be the fifth leading cause of death worldwide. The developing world, specifically South-East Asia, African and Western Pacific regions are expected to see the most significant increases in road traffic injuries. I am proud to say that our organization’s efforts to raise awareness of the impact of road crashes were acknowledged at the UN General Assembly in New York in March 2008. The Assembly approved the first ever UN Ministerial Conference on Global Road Safety to be held in Moscow in November 2009. This is an important milestone in our attempt to increase international awareness and call for an adequate global answer to limit the gigantic scale of the worldwide road traffic injury and fatality epidemic. Injuries are preventable. In early 2008 this fact became terribly clear. Eight year old Le Xuan Han, was killed in Ho Chi Minh City while riding with her parents and sister on a motorbike to visit her grandmother. A drunk driver on another motorcycle smashed into them. Han was not wearing a helmet that day and suffered severe brain damage. She never regained consciousness and died the next day. As a member of AIP Foundation’s Helmets for Kids program Han had an appropriate helmet. However, that day her parents made an exception and didn’t oblige her to wear it: they “weren’t traveling very far”. Both parents however, wore their helmets and survived. Therefore, I repeat the slogan of our Public Awareness Campaign: “Wear A Helmet. There Are No Excuses.” Sincerely,
Greig Craft President & Founder AIP Foundation
AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 4
III. Vietnam’s Helmet Public Awareness Campaigns In April of 2007, AIP Foundation launched a 3-phase, National Helmet Wearing Public Awareness Campaign (PAC I) with a coalition of private, public, and government sponsors. With the support of the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) of Vietnam, the Asian Development Bank, AusAID, the Danish Embassy, FIA Foundation, Intel Vietnam, Michelin Asia, the US Embassy, Talisman Vietnam, the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO) the campaign strives to increase helmet wearing rates and traffic safety knowledge throughout Vietnam in an effort to decrease the country’s horrific number of traffic accident casualties. The campaign was Vietnam’s first international caliber road safety campaign and incorporated an innovative array of media and events that pushed the issue of helmet use to the forefront of public discourse. Its Phase I (April 2007 to October 2007) television commercial “Wear A Helmet. There Are No Excuses.,” incorporated provoking images of road accident survivors, is credited with spurring the Government of Vietnam to accelerate the enactment date of Resolution 32, the country’s new mandatory helmet law. Phase II of the campaign took place from October 2007 to February 2008. The campaign moved from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City into regional centers and emphasized the need for habitual helmet use. This time period encompassed the December 15th enactment of Resolution 32. During the buildup to the effective date of this landmark legislation, the campaign played an important role in the government’s public awareness and education efforts. Indeed, many of the campaign’s messages and materials were utilized by various agencies within the government for further distribution. Thanks to these combined efforts, Resolution 32 was an overwhelming success and helmet usage rates nationwide immediately jumped to over 99% on December 15. Phase III (March 2008 – December 2008) of the PAC rounded out the message of Phase I and II, and responded to the changing dynamics of the road traffic safety public health crisis in Vietnam. Helmet use rates for children have been dropping because of misinformation about helmets stunting children’s growth, damaging their spines or causing throat injury, which caused many parents to misguidedly put their children in danger by not placing helmets on them - often leading to tragic results. In addition to maintaining helmet use in the general population, Phase III messages and activities were crafted to respond to the demographic divide in helmet-use rates between adults and children. All three phases of the campaign included a wide variety of events such as free concerts, television commercials, primary school helmet education and child helmet donations, print, online and outdoor advertisements. The campaign’s free outdoor concerts, which included doctor and accident survivor interviews, regularly drew more than 10,000 attendees and attracted tens of millions of viewers during live television broadcasts. Observational surveys conducted in different cities to measure helmet-wearing rates, as well as quantitative and qualitative studies to measure behavior and awareness change, are essential to the campaign. The Post-Phase III study will be conducted in HCMC, Hanoi, and Da Nang to analyze helmet-usage rates and characteristics, helmet knowledge, campaign effectiveness, and changes in traffic casualties in urban and rural areas. The report is to be released April 1, 2009. A report summarizing the entire campaign will be released one month later.
AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 5
Highlights of 2008: Celebrity Endorsements Celebrities around the world united to get the word out: “Wear A Helmet. Every time. Everywhere.” This is the slogan under which AIP Foundation launched a series of billboards (in 5 major cities of Vietnam), ads on buses and bus stops in Hanoi and HCMC, online banners on the most popular news sites, posters and postcards for nationwide distribution, and television spots. Through these high-impact commercials, the public learned that wearing a helmet is both cool and responsible – and that children need to be protected too. The following celebrities participated in Phase III of the PAC:
Singers Dam Vinh Hung, Anh Khoa, Hien Thuc, Lam Truong, Doan Trang, Dang Khoi, Trinh Kim Chi Comedians Thanh Loc, Anh Vu Football players Thanh Binh, Hoang Buu, Minh Phuong Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher
International movie star Michelle Yeoh Miss Universe 2008 contestants, including Miss Vietnam 2008 Miss Vietnam 2006-2007 Mai Phuong Thuy Miss Photogenic 2006-2007 Cao Thanh Hang
Film actress Michelle Yeoh supports the Child Road Safety in Vietnam International movie star Michelle Yeoh joined AIP Foundation’s campaign as a goodwill Ambassador. She came to Hanoi in March 2008 for the launch of Phase III of the campaign, attended a Helmets for Kids ceremony, visited children crash victims in hospitals and at home, as well as discussed road safety topic with high-school pupils and Vietnamese Government leaders. After her visit she handed over a Helmets for Kids helmet to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. During her second visit to Vietnam in October 2008, she launched the campaign’s Child Helmet TVC in HCMC and led a “March for children’s road safety” together with thousands of kids, Government authorities and residents in front of the city’s Reunification Palace. Her activities in Vietnam and other countries were covered by national and international media. This included a film named “Call for Action”, documented by Richard Stanley, as well as a broadcast on “Talk Vietnam” during the 1st anniversary of Vietnam’s helmetwearing law in December 2008.
AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 6
AIP Foundation’s contributions to road safety acknowledged in United Nations General Assembly In March 2008, The United Nations General Assembly in New York approved the first ever global UN Conference on road safety, in an effort to reduce the rapidly growing death toll on the world’s roads. Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN Bui The Giang made an impassioned speech at the General Assembly, sharing Vietnam’s efforts to improve road safety. He candidly noted that Vietnam’s great economic progress and increased mobility have resulted in a public health crisis from traffic accidents. He acknowledged the contributions of AIP Foundation to combat this crisis, and those of Michelle Yeoh. After the debate, Michelle Yeoh presented an AIP Foundation Helmets for Kids helmet to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Letter to Vietnam’s Prime Minister by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Tutu Archbishop of South Africa Desmond Tutu sent a letter to Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to congratulate Vietnam for co-sponsoring a historic United Nation’s resolution on improving global road safety and for the nation’s successful implementation of the mandatory helmet law. Echoing concerns of AIP Foundation, Archbishop Tutu urged modification of Resolution 32 to enforce child helmets wearing by fining the adult driver. Campaign wins advertising effectiveness awards “Wear A Helmet. There Are No Excuses.” wins Silver at the most prestigious and rigorous advertising effectiveness awards ceremony worldwide (IPA Awards 2008). One of the judges commented: “… this campaign is a demonstration of how communications effectively accelerated helmet wearing legislation and changed public behavior. This is an extraordinary scale of effect as there are still places in Europe that don’t have such high helmet wearing rates.” The campaign’s “Rush Hour” child helmet TVC won the first prize at 2008 Golden Bell awards. This annual award honors contributions of the advertising industry for Vietnam's socio-economic development. Road safety concert tour throughout Vietnam continues
AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 7
Between January and June 2008, 5 cities hosted free, live road safety concerts with performances by popular Vietnamese pop stars, models, and comedians. The celebrity guests educated concertgoers on reasons for helmet use. The education portion of the concert included a traffic safety comedy, medical testimonials by road traffic accident survivors and doctors, video clips, and a demonstration of the consequences of children riding motorbikes without helmets. Each of the events were attended by 8,000 to 15,000 people and live broadcast on local TV. The estimated viewership is 2 – 3 million per concert. Traffic safety training to for national police In June 2008, AIP Foundation provides National Road Safety Training to representatives of the Traffic Police force of all 64 provinces in Vietnam. Road traffic fatalities decrease The National Traffic Safety Committee reported 1,400 fewer road traffic fatalities and 2,200 fewer serious injuries from January 2008-October 2008, as compared with the same period last year. Since it can be assumed that the number of drivers on the road increased in 2008 given the still dramatic motorization rate in Vietnam, the life-saving effect of increased helmet use is even more dramatic. Law enforcement: buckle up! The Government enacted Resolution 5 on November 13, 2008. Resolution 5 mandates that motorbike riders who wear a helmet without securing the retention system (helmet buckle) will face fines of 200,000 VND. Wearing an unfastened helmet shall be treated as not wearing a helmet and fines will be given accordingly. Children and guardians still face no penalty if a child is riding without a helmet. AIP Foundation and VHWC members continue to lobby for modifications to the existing legislation that would levy a fine on adult motorbike drivers for riding with un-helmeted child passengers. Next Steps During Phase III, AIP Foundation identified two primary causes for the low rates of child helmet use: (1) lack of a legal penalty for children without helmets and (2) misinformation on the safety of child helmets. AIP Foundation has determined the most effective and necessary next step to achieving universal helmet use in Vietnam is to address child helmet use specifically with a six- month intensive campaign. The Child Helmet Wearing Public Awareness Campaign (PAC II) was announced during the Global Launch of the World Report on Child Injury Prevention in December 2008 in Hanoi and will be launched February 2009. The Coalition supporting PAC II include: AusAID, FIA Foundation, the National Traffic Safety Committee, Safe Kids Worldwide, Talisman Vietnam, UNICEF, and the World Bank.
AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 8
AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 9
IV. Helmets for Kids In the developing world of Southeast Asia, the motorcycle is the primary mode of transportation for work, school and leisure. Tragically, a significant number of young children are being killed every single day due to serious head trauma caused by motorcycle accidents. While we cannot change the ways and means of transportation, we can make a difference in a child’s life by providing them with a helmet. In 2000, AIP Foundation launched the Helmets for Kids (HFK) program and has since distributed over 400,000 certified Protec tropical helmets as an immediate intervention, along with teacher and student training on road safety. Program components include crash investigations, monitoring & surveillance, and daily traffic safety instruction. Much of HFK’s success, to date, results from the incorporation of helmets into the school curriculum – effectively making helmets part of the schools’ uniforms. The development of a lightweight helmet has been hailed as “a milestone in child safety”. The real success of Helmets for Kids, however, can be measured by the growing number of children already saved by their helmets. Thanks to financial support from the public and private sector, HFK has donated free helmets to primary school children in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Africa. 1. Helmets for Kids Vietnam In 2008, AIP Foundation distributed helmets to 22 schools in 7 provinces. In 2008, 43 children’s lives were saved under HFK program. Challenges include changing parents’ misperception of helmets unsafe for their children. Though it may take more time to change this mistaken belief, most of the parents in HFK schools are cooperative and supportive of putting helmets on their children when riding a bike or a bicycle. Improved helmet trainings, educational ceremonies and non-class activities have increased the understanding of the protective value of helmets for children by teachers, students and parents in HFK schools. Vietnamese motorcycle crash victim Le Xuan Han was honored on the United National General Assembly floor by Make Roads Safe Commissioner Lord George Robertson in an emotional opening speech. The 8 year old Han was a member of the Helmets for Kids program. She was killed during Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) of 2008 when a drunk driver crashed into the motorbike carrying her parents and sister. The parents had made an exception to the girls wearing their helmets on that particular day. Han’s mother, Nguyen Thi Xuan Diem, has since courageously vowed that Han’s death will not to be in vain. She is supporting AIP Foundation’s effort to publicize the tragic case so that other parents will learn the importance to always make children wear helmets, and avoid the loss and grief their family will carry forever. Hundred thousands of flyers featuring little Han’s sad story were distributed to all parents and teachers of over 2,000 primary schools in Vietnam. AIP Foundation published an Open Letter to address the misconception that helmets are unsafe for children. The announcement is co-signed by international experts in the field of helmets and by the director of the leading Vietnamese hospital in head trauma care.
AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 10
V. Traffic Safety Education & Engineering (TSEE) The objectives of this project are to stimulate, encourage and inspire children to practice good traffic safety. Interactive AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 11
classroom lessons with trained teachers will provide students with traffic safety skills. Ongoing engagement of parents, teachers and local authorities generates community awareness that encourages students to practice and learn the safety skills they learn. Infrastructure improvements, like pedestrian crosswalks, create enabling environments that support safe behavior. Under the sponsorship of Dow Chemical in Vietnam, AIP Foundation in cooperation with state agencies and local communities implemented this comprehensive road safety program at 5 primary schools in HCMC and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. Activities include: Engineering improvements inside the schools, at the school gate and outside the schools – such as re-arranging parking areas for parents, lane separation at the school gates during pick up and drop off hours, painting zebra crossings, speed bumps and installation of traffic signs outside the schools. Providing traffic safety education materials and equipments to teachers and students:
Traffic safety student’s books for pupils, teachers and parents
Traffic posters, traffic signs, mock-up street models, high visibility “STOP” hands
Training books providing guidance on active teaching methods of traffic safety.
Traffic Safety Corners on the school ground. This includes mock-up intersection, traffic safety bulletin board, traffic lights and traffic signs.
The two training workshops for teachers were held in Ho Chi Minh City and Vung Tau City in August 2008. Core teachers from the 5 schools were taught interactive teaching methods of road safety. Traffic safety lessons were taught in all classes for six consecutive weeks. Pedestrian campaigns were implemented at all schools. Non-class activities were implemented at all 5 schools as an effective way to consolidate students’ traffic safety knowledge and skills. Enforcement activities were conducted by local authorities during pick up and drop off hours to ensure effectiveness of engineering improvement and pedestrian campaign. Highlights This public-private partnership project model presents an integrated approach and close coordination with state agencies MOET, local Departments of Training and Education, National Traffic Safety Committee, local Transport Urban Public Works Services, local police, the business sector (DOW Chemical in Vietnam) and the community (parents and the schools). The three components (engineering improvements, traffic safety education, and enforcement) comprise a new project model that has resulted in more comprehensive results. By targeting children, teachers and parents, these projects also reach their friends, relatives and community – spreading public awareness about traffic safety that will help create sustainable change to road traffic safety in Vietnam. Ultimately, TSEE program helps to achieve the most important goal - to save lives.
AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 12
AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 13
VI. Partnerships & Activities Around the World Arrive Alive Africa The Arrive Alive program was created by Chevron to help eliminate traffic-related fatalities and injuries in communities around the world. In2008, AIP Foundation provided 10,000 helmets to the Arrive Alive Road Safety Initiative in Nigeria and 4,000 helmet to Arrive Alive in Uganda. Driving Skills for Life Ford Motor Company's expanded its successful Driving Skills for Life program, in cooperation with AIP Foundation, into Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines). The driver training program was kicked off in July 2008 in Hanoi, Vietnam. DSFL offers free programs to trainers, and mixes classroom learning and practical training to help increase awareness of safe driving techniques that also help to increase fuel efficiency. The training has been customized for Vietnam to reflect the local driving environment and road conditions, and will be offered through a series of events which are open to the public. FIA Foundation AIP Foundation and the FIA Foundation have established a strategic partnership to improve road safety in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. The partnership sees the FIA Foundation supporting national helmet campaign coalitions in each of the three countries – which together suffer 74 deaths and more than 230 serious injuries every day in road crashes (the majority motorcycle related) through financial, policy and campaigning assistance. FIA Foundation is a member of the Vietnam Helmet Wearing Coalition. SafeKids Worldwide AIP Foundation is a member of the SafeKids Worldwide (SKW) network and presented it’s successful model at SKW Leadership Conference in Washington DC in October 2008. SafeKids Worldwide supported Helmets for Kids and the Public Awareness Campaign of AIP Foundation in Vietnam. Unicef In late 2008, Unicef Vietnam joined the Vietnam Helmet Wearing Coalition to support AIP Foundation’s Child Helmet Campaign. United Nations Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC) In April 2004, the United Nations General Assembly resolution on “Improving global road safety” invited WHO, working in close cooperation with the United Nations regional commissions, to act as coordinator on road safety issues across the United Nations system. The Collaboration has initiated work on the following activities: development of a series of manuals on good practice (the first manual advises road safety professionals on how to increase the use of helmets and has been launched in August 2006; AIP Foundation was one of the co-authors); creation of a dynamic, global web-based database on road safety legislation; completing and updating a series of resolutions on road traffic signs and signals adapted in the European region; follow-up regional stakeholder meetings; and the establishment of an annual World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 14
AIP Foundation is a member of UNRSC. In 2008, the bi-annual meetings were held in New Work, USA and Geneva, Switzerland. World Health Organization (WHO) WHO in Vietnam is a member of the Vietnam Helmet Wearing Coalition. AIP Foundation contributed to the World Report on Child Injury Prevention and is a co-author of the WHO bulletin paper “Vietnam's mandatory motorcycle helmet law and its impact on children”.
VII. Not-for-profit Helmet Factory The Vietnam Safety Products Equipment Company (VSPEC), AIP Foundation’s 100% owned nonprofit “tropical” helmet company, produces a line of high-quality and affordable helmets under the Protec brand, designed specifically for Asian heads and conditions. The physically disabled are employed to assemble the helmets at the factory, creating a valuable social model. All profits are put back into the community. The factory was built with USD 2M worth of donations and employs more than 100 staff and workers. Protec has helmet boutiques in major cities: Hanoi, HCMC and a nationwide distribution network. Highlights Protec wins the Blue Ribbon Award The Blue Ribbon Employers Council was formed in September of 2007 by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH) and with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The Council’s mission is to promote employment of people with disabilities in Vietnam. Protec won the 2008 Blue Ribbon award for employing handicapped workers. Since its founding, Protec has endeavored to give all individuals, regardless of their handicap, a place to work. Currently, Protec is striving to make sure that 30% of its workforce is handicapped labor. Quality helmets In 2008, Protec developed 3 new models of certified quality child helmets. Protec helmets were voted “Top products applying modern technology and science” by the Vietnamese Ministry of Technology and Science. Helmets for poor students in Central Vietnam In December 2008, the Vietnamese Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung and Protec donated over 2,000 helmets to primary schools in the Quang Ngai and Quang Nam provinces of Central Vietnam.
AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 15
VIII. 2008 Financials Expenditure
Income Corporate Support
377,695
Overhead
274,167
Foundation Support
465,198
Fundraising
22,285
Other
51,275
Programs
1,027,163
Protec
196,597
Helmets For Kids
347,101
Government Support
467,007
Traffic Safety Educ. & Eng.
92,228
TOTAL:
1,557,772
Public Awareness Education
570,514
Thailand
17,321
TOTAL:
1,323,616
2008 Income by Type
Corporate Support
24%
30%
Foundation Support Other Protec
13%
30%
Government Support
3%
2008 Expenditure 1% Overhead 21%
Fundraising 2%
43%
HFK TSE
26% 7%
PAE Thailand
AIP Foundation-Year End Report 2008 | 16