Global health organization, the World Health Organization, teams up with the AIP Foundation to eradicate preventable child road fatalities.
Viet Nam Project 2000: A National Partnership Aimed at Eliminating Child Road Deaths
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the AIP Foundation have launched a new national partnership in August 2025, named the Viet Nam Project 2000. The initiative aims to eliminate preventable child road deaths in Vietnam by saving 2,000 young lives annually.
The partnership was inspired by the multi-sectoral partnership highlighted at the Fourth Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Marrakech, Morocco. Its core mission is to reduce the number of children and young people killed on Vietnamese roads from the current annual toll of 2,000—equivalent to five children dying each day—to zero.
Key details and progress include:
- The project targets a measurable reduction in child and youth road fatalities through coordinated efforts among government agencies, NGOs, international partners, private sector entities, and community leaders.
- The partnership was formalized with a Memorandum of Understanding signed by WHO Representative Dr. Angela Pratt and AIP Foundation President Greig Craft.
- The initiative relies on evidence-based solutions, coordinated action, and collective willpower to improve road safety specifically for children, with a focus on protecting school zones and daily routes children travel.
- Recent efforts in Vietnam include using advanced technologies like AI and satellite imagery to assess and enhance traffic safety in school zones, supported by the Ministry of Construction and AIP Foundation. This involves training officials in using internationally recognized road safety assessment methods, such as the iRAP star-rating system, to implement better traffic infrastructure and management around schools to reduce injuries and fatalities among students.
- The project addresses a significant public health and social burden, considering the high economic and societal costs of road traffic crashes in Vietnam. The partnership aims to implement laws based on technical standards for child safety seats in vehicles and promote helmet use for children.
- The partnership aims to forge stronger partnerships among the government, civil society, private sector, and international organizations. It plans to make measurable progress towards reducing the number of children and young people killed on Vietnamese roads from 2,000 each year to zero.
- As of August 2025, the Viet Nam Project 2000 is in its initial phase, with plans underway to implement comprehensive road safety measures, including infrastructure upgrades and awareness campaigns, to achieve the goal of zero child road deaths. The official launch of the partnership is expected later this year.
Dr. Angela Pratt, WHO Representative in Vietnam, stated that no child should lose their life on the way to school, and that the Viet Nam Project 2000 is about saving futures, supporting families, and creating safe, thriving communities. She also expressed her concern about the five families in Vietnam that lose a child or young person in a road crash every day. The partnership intends to build on existing progress in Vietnam and accelerate progress towards the targets of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action 2021-2030.
