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Let me begin by thanking the National Traffic Safety Committee, Vital Strategies, and the Global Road Safety Partnership for hosting this important meeting, and for the opportunity to speak today.
We are united by a common purpose: to save lives and prevent injuries on our roads. Globally, road traffic crashes claim around 1.19 million lives each year.
In Viet Nam, the cost of fatalities and serious injuries is estimated at USD 19 billion annually—about 5% of the country’s GDP. Tragically, road traffic injuries are a leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5–29 in Viet Nam, with around 2,000 young lives lost on our roads each year.
That’s five children and young people every single day—five families devastated, five communities grieving. As a mother of two, it breaks my heart to think that today, somewhere in Viet Nam, five parents will face the unimaginable grief and trauma of losing a child.
Road traffic injuries are a preventable public health crisis. The only acceptable number of road deaths is zero.
Viet Nam has made significant progress, including a 40% reduction in road deaths over the past decade, thanks to strong Government leadership. The National Road Safety Strategy to 2030, with a Vision to 2045, aligns with the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety.
This progress would not have been possible without the commitment of Viet Nam’s leaders and decision-makers, which WHO is proud to support.
We are also deeply grateful for the generous support of the Bloomberg Initiative and the dedication of all road safety partners. This partnership is a powerful team. Thank you all for your hard work, collaboration, and long-term commitment.
However, challenges remain.
Injury and fatality rates among motorcyclists, pedestrians, children, and youth are still high. To reduce these, we must strengthen enforcement of key risk factors—speed, drink-driving, helmet and seat-belt use—and secure sustainable financing for local implementation.
Looking ahead, our priority must be to build a people-centered transport system. This means integrating road safety into urban planning, infrastructure design and sustainable mobility policies, making roads safer for all—especially children and vulnerable users.
WHO is proud to have supported past efforts and remains committed to future collaboration. Just a few weeks ago, WHO, the AIP Foundation and 16 partners launched the Viet Nam Project 2000 Road Safety Partnership, focused on protecting children and youth, and supporting the national goal to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030.
This partnership will focus, at least initially, on three proven interventions:
- Ensuring every child wears a certified helmet, and wears it correctly
- Strengthening enforcement and public awareness of child restraint systems and seatbelt use in cars
- Creating safer school zones and road environments.
The success of this partnership – and in fact any road safety work – will depend on two factors.
The first is evidence-based decision-making. Reliable data, research, and evaluation must guide our actions to ensure resources are used where they can save the most lives.
Secondly, we need multi-sectoral collaboration. Only by working together—across health, transport, police, education and civil society—can we achieve lasting impact.
That’s another reason it’s so encouraging to see such diverse representation here today.
Let me close by encouraging everyone here today to seize the opportunity of this partners’ meeting to reaffirm our commitment to a safe and sustainable transport system for all. Together, we can build a future where every journey is safe.
Thank you for your leadership, partnership and dedication to road safety, and a safer and healthier Viet Nam.
Xin cảm ơn!