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Good afternoon distinguished colleagues, partners, and friends,
Let me begin with a simple but powerful statistic: in Viet Nam, road traffic crashes claim nearly 2,000 young lives every year. Behind each of these numbers is a child, a family, and a community whose lives are changed forever. And many of these tragedies happen during what should be one of the safest and most routine parts of a child’s day - travelling to and from school.
Every day across Viet Nam, millions of children walk, cycle, or ride on motorcycles to reach their classrooms. Yet too often they must navigate busy streets, fast-moving traffic, limited pedestrian infrastructure, and road environments that were not designed with children in mind.
Children are among the most vulnerable road users. Their smaller size, limited ability to judge speed and distance, and dependence on adults for safe mobility mean that the road system must be designed to protect them.
The good news is that we know what works.
Global evidence and WHO recommendations consistently show that Safe School Zones are among the most effective interventions to protect children on the road. By reducing vehicle speeds, improving pedestrian crossings, introducing traffic calming measures, strengthening signage and enforcement, and engaging communities, Safe School Zones can significantly reduce injuries and save lives.
Encouragingly, Viet Nam has already taken important steps in this direction. Various government agencies, development partners, and civil society organizations have piloted and implemented initiatives to improve safety around schools. These efforts have generated valuable lessons and demonstrated that change is possible.
However, important challenges remain. Approaches to school-area safety are not yet fully standardized across localities, and there is a need for stronger coordination across sectors, clearer policy guidance, and sustainable implementation mechanisms.
This is exactly why today’s workshop is so important.
Under the framework of Viet Nam Project 2000, WHO Viet Nam and AIP Foundation are working together with partners to strengthen evidence-based policies and scalable interventions to protect children on the road. Promoting effective and standardized Safe School Zone approaches is a key priority within this effort.
Today’s workshop brings together representatives from government agencies, technical institutions, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector. By bringing these perspectives together, we hope to:
- strengthen our shared understanding of Safe School Zone principles and good practices;
- learn from existing initiatives and experiences in Viet Nam;
- discuss key challenges related to policy, design, enforcement, and implementation; and
- identify practical recommendations and priority actions to support the expansion of Safe School Zones.
Protecting children on the road requires a whole-of-society approach. Transport planners, educators, police, health professionals, local authorities, communities, and families all have a role to play.
But the goal is simple and powerful: every child should be able to travel to and from school safely.
At WHO, we remain committed to supporting Viet Nam with technical guidance, global evidence, and strong partnerships to advance child road safety and contribute to the goals of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030.
I would like to sincerely thank all of you for your participation today and for your continued commitment to protecting children and youth on the roads of Viet Nam.
I wish you a productive and engaging discussion.
Thank you very much.