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ADB and Viet Nam Students' Newspaper Launch Essay Competition on Traffic Safety

HANOI, VIET NAM (3 October 2005) - As the news school year opens, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in partnership with the Viet Nam Students' Newspaper today launched an essay competition on traffic safety, with the theme, "Unforgettable trip."

The competition will target pupils aged between 12 and 18 from all secondary and high schools within the territory of Hanoi capital. The competition, according to organizers, will draw on experiences of a pupil or of his or her friends and relatives related to traffic safety or traffic situations and lessons learned.

In a speech to hundreds of school children in Nguyen Gia Thieu secondary school, Bradford Philips, ADB's Country Director in Viet Nam, stressed that the competition would be a good opportunity to help raise awareness of traffic safety among Viet Nam's youth.

"Traffic accidents have become a leading cause of accidental death in Viet Nam today," he said. "In order to curb this threat, alongside the government's efforts, each member in the community, especially young people, needs to obey the traffic laws."

A new ADB report estimates that the overall national cost of road traffic accidents accounted for 2.45% and 1.96% of GDP in 2002 and 2003, respectively. These losses would be reduced if more people respected the traffic rules.

Mr. Philips said that a number of families would fall into poverty due to their main bread earners dying in traffic accidents. "This fact would affect Viet Nam's remarkable achievements in poverty reduction, which ADB is proud to have been a partner in over more than the past decade," he said.

Doan Cong Huynh, the Editor in Chief of Viet Nam Students' Newspaper, said rapid motorization following a long period of high economic growth had left the traffic situation in Hanoi complex.

"Through this competition, we want to create a forum for young people to exchange their own experiences, and thus draw necessary lessons, so that they can improve their travel behavior," Mr. Huynh said.

This is the first competition on traffic safety to be held in Hanoi. The organizers will receive entries from today until the closing date of 7 November.

Results of the "Unforgettable trip" competition will be published in Hoa Hoc Tro (Pupil Flower Magazine), a weekly publication of the Viet Nam Students' Newspaper. The awards include one first prize, two second prizes, three third prizes, and four honorable mentions worth VND5 million, VND3 million, VND2 million, and VND1 million, respectively.

ADB is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through pro-poor sustainable economic growth, social development, and good governance. Established in 1966, it is owned by 64 members - 46 from the region. In 2004, it approved loans and technical assistance totaling $5.3 billion and $196.6 million, respectively.

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