H.E. Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior

Mr. Greig Craft, President of Asia Injury Prevention Foundation

Ms. Michelle Yeoh, Global Road Safety Ambassador

Principals, teachers and students

Ladies and gentlemen

Good morning!  I am pleased to join such a distinguished group to raise awareness on such an important issue.  We see road safety as a priority not only here in Cambodia but all over the world.  This is why it is encouraging to see such a high-level of participation in today’s event.  As a frequent motorcycle rider myself, helmets and road safety are issues that I take very seriously.

According to the WHO status report on road safety, road traffic accidents result in more than 1 million deaths globally each year. For every 1 person who dies in a road traffic crash, 20 are injured. And 1 in 20 of those injured is left with a disability.  At such a scale, this is an issue that impacts each of us. We envision a world where we and our loved ones face fewer risks as we go about our everyday lives.

But the numbers don’t really describe the huge impact that accidents have.  A traffic death may cost a family its wage earner.  Traffic injuries may mean a child won’t be able to attend school.  In short – the accidents have the potential to cost Cambodia’s government and its society heavily.

What makes events like today all the more exciting, however, is that we come together not just to discuss the problem, but to celebrate a solution: the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation’s “Head Safe, Helmet On” campaign.

We first began working with this project when AIP applied to USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures program, which is designed to test new, more effective, and more efficient ways to solve development challenges.

When AIP told us about their work in Vietnam, which helped bring about a national helmet wearing law in 2007, they had our attention.  In the first year of its existence, that law is estimated to have saved over 1,500 lives and prevented almost 2,500 injuries.  It also saved the Vietnamese government $52 million – a truly exciting achievement.

Based on these promising results, USAID selected AIP for a highly-competitive award for Stage 2 funding, totaling US$635,993  to test the approach in Cambodia. Working with impressive partners from the FIA Foundation/Road Safety Fund, The UPS Foundation, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AIP will leverage USAID support with the aim of generating more than US$1.7 million in savings for the Cambodian government.

Today, we see this initiative in action, putting over 6,000 more helmets on the roads of Phnom Penh. Through initiatives like this, AIP aims to directly benefit over 220,000 Cambodians through helmet distribution and road safety education.  We hope that another 2 million Cambodians will benefit indirectly by the increased safety brought about the helmets and education.

But as we know, this issue goes beyond just these numbers. It is about people. And it is clear from the energy here today that the people in this room have the potential to lead the way to improved road safety in Cambodia.  It will take our combined efforts to make this happen.  That’s why we’re particularly grateful to partners like Michelle Yeoh, who is lending her celebrity to this important cause.  Thank you, Michelle.

Thank you all for your contributions and commitment to this issue. I wish you all safe travels.