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A five-year global road safety programme dubbed "Global Helmet Vaccine Initiative" was launched on Thursday in Dakar by LASER International, the road safety organisation.

The launch was in cooperation with the Senegalese ministry of telecommunications, information and communication technologies, land and rail transportation.

The programme is mainly aimed at promoting the wearing of a safety helmet to reduce the incidence of skull and brain trauma and other types of injuries related to road accidents.

Financed to the tune of 150 million euros per year by the International Automobile Federation, (FIA Foundation) and the World Bank Fund for road safety, the programme's slogan "The Safety Helmet, An Asset for Life" will revolve around several components, namely education, advocacy, sensitisation, distribution of helmets to school-children and the organisation of concerts.

It comes within the framework of the United Nations “Decade of Actions for Road Safety” that begins in 2011 and is aimed at promoting the wearing of helmets made in Vietnam in developing countries by establishing partnerships with the ministries of the different governments concerned, the private sector and international agencies.

Between 2010 and 2011, the campaign will be in some African countries, namely Senegal which has been chosen as pilot for its launch, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.

The president of Laser International Afrique, Mrs Ndèye Awa Sarr, said road accidents had become a global scourge, not least in developing countries, pointing out that 1.3 million people died every year in the world in accidents with more than 60 million wounded.

The mortality rate is likely to increase to 65% in the next 25 years "if we do not guard against it", she said.

In this respect, she called for a good road safety policy, not least for children who are the prime target of this programme.

The president of Laser International Afrique announced in that perspective the distribution of 1,250 helmets to school children in Senegal and a concert with Senegalese rapper Didier Awadi on 20 March in the southern city of Ziguinchor, one of the regions most affected by road accidents in Senegal.

http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/senegal:-global-road-safety-programme-launched-in-senegal-2010031946128.html

Dakar - Pana 19/03/2010