MANDALAY, Myanmar - December 19, 2019

Following the success of the Safety Delivered program’s first year of implementation in Myanmar in between 2017-2018, 1,200 participants, including students, teachers, parents, and school representatives, attended the Safety Delivered helmet handover ceremony at School No. 13 in Chan Mya Thar Zi of the Mandalay Region in Myanmar, on December 19, 2019. Road traffic crashes continue to be one of the most fatal and costly public health problems in Myanmar, causing 17,452 crashes in 2018 that resulted in 5,184 deaths and 26,741 injuries, with motorcyclists making up the majority of fatalities at 45%.

School No. 13 was selected for the Safety Delivered program due to its high-risk location near a busy, main highway. In 2018, the school saw 20 reported road crashes among students and teachers. In the same year, an additional school in Mandalay, School No.32, tragically experienced the death of a student due to a road crash. Student helmet-wearing rates at both School No. 13 and 32 are less than 5%. Between both School No. 13 and School No. 32, 2,027 helmets will be donated in 2019 through Safety Delivered. Representatives of both schools were in attendance at the ceremony.

U Sai Pann Hsaing, Minister of Shan Ethnic Affairs, kicked off the event with a keynote address, in which he shared, “Following today’s ceremony, I hope that all children at School No. 13, and all future program schools in Mandalay, will wear their new helmets whenever they are riding a motorcycle or bicycle. I also strongly urge that teachers and parents act as positive role models by always wearing a helmet when riding as well.”

Additional senior officials from the Chief Minister of the Mandalay Region’s Office, the Mandalay Region Education Office, the Mandalay Police Office, and the Mandalay Region Road Transport Administration Office, as well as road safety stakeholders and representatives from AIP Foundation, The UPS Foundation, and the President of the Myanmar Organization for Road Safety (MORS) were also in attendance.