Working with Australian Red Cross to Support Road Safety Volunteer in Cambodia
Motorisation is expanding at an alarming rate in Cambodia. Regrettably, so too is road crash death and injury. Road fatalities have increased by 50% since 2005, and road crashes are now the leading cause of injury and death in the country.
In a bold move to combat these sharp increases, the Cambodian National Road Safety Committee (NRSC) is working on the development of a detailed national action plan to address key risk factors and reduce the fatality rate by 50% by the year 2020. In recognition of the complexity of this task, Australian Red Cross created a volunteer assignment to provide expert assistance to the NRSC. This assignment is part of the Australian Volunteers for International Development programme (AVID), an Australian Government – AusAID initiative.
In consultation with the NRSC and Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP), the position was created and filled, and Australian Robyn Seymour was deployed to Cambodia. (Photo at left: Chhoun Voun from the NRSC discusses the safety features at a Phnom Penh intersection with Robyn Seymour)Robyn receives support on the ground from the local Cambodian GRSP office, and is working directly with the NRSC on many aspects of the national action plan, including the Annual Report; a critically important document in helping policy makers understand the true situation on Cambodia’s roads.
GRSP Asia Regional Manager, Ian Hughes, said of the posting: “This a terrific example of the value that the AVID programme can add to projects throughout the region. Robyn brings to the task over a decade of experience in high level road safety policy and project management, and will prove a most valuable asset to the NRSC”.
“I have no doubt that the outcomes of this position will be significant. We wish to acknowledge and thank Australian Red Cross for making this position possible, and we hope that it may serve as a catalyst for the creation of many similar road safety positions throughout the region – and of course, through other volunteer programmes, around the globe”.
Read more on the AVID posting.
Photo: Australian Red Cross/Tiet Ho
