KANDAL and KAMPONG SPEU, Cambodia – May 22, 2021

In Cambodia, more than 700,000 workers commute to and from garment and footwear factories each day. They face the reality of an unsafe commute, with a devastating 53% of the total commuters involved in a road crash in 2019. In May this year, to save lives, AIP Foundation distributed awareness materials to four high-risk factories as part of the Commuting Safety for Workers (CSCW) program.

Pivotal to the use of these materials are the Road Safety Working Groups (RSWGs) in the factories, who were established through the CSCW program as the main point of contact for road safety concerns. The RSWGs distributed the materials to help improve the commuting safety for hundreds of factory workers in Kandal province and Kampong Speu provinces. They received life-saving reflective vests, t-shirts, helmets as well as banners and stickers to be used during the educational information sessions. All materials will be worn by workers to ensure they are protected or placed on helmets and vehicles around the factory. As a result of the distribution of these awareness materials, more workers will be ultimately able to access economic opportunities without the risk of injury, disability, or death.

Over a three-year period from 2019 to 2022, 30 factories in high-risk provinces, in Phnom Penh, Kandal, Kampong Speu, and other high-risk provinces in Cambodia will be targeted with road safety policy advocacy campaigns and the formation of RSWGs to increase awareness of the importance of commuting safety through the Commuting Safety for Cambodian Workers (CSCW) program. The CSCW program is implemented by AIP Foundation and the Solidarity Center and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).