Abu Dhabi: Volunteers from Emirates Foundation’s Sanad programme have launched a nationwide Child Safety Campaign on the sidelines of its Youth Philanthropy Summit.
The initiative comes in the wake of increasing numbers of children dying as a result of injuries they have suffered in accidents while playing or performing other activities. According to the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi, this is the leading cause of death for people aged 18 and below.
“We are proud to launch this national Child Safety Campaign, designed to safeguard children across the UAE through a comprehensive programme of awareness raising and training activities on the measures, processes and good practices for injury prevention and management,” said Maitha Al Habsi, Chief Programmes Officer at Emirates Foundation.
The initiative plans to train 3,000 children, as well as 3,000 parents, guardians, and caretakers as part of the programme, with events taking place across the country.
“What is truly unique about this campaign is that is a youth-driven project from inception to execution. In other words, it is truly a grass-roots initiative that stems from the youth themselves, targeting both youth and children aged from 18 and below,” Maitha added.
As part of the initiative an awareness campaign will also be launched through media outlets, including using animated television characters.
“Aligned with the Foundation’s commitment to nurture tomorrow’s leaders, we will be delivering a comprehensive prevention and emergency management programme aimed at raising awareness of risks and increasing the adoption of child-safe practices, towards protecting our country’s most valuable resource,” Maitha said.
Maitha added that the initiative was in line with the organisation’s keenness in giving back to the community. “This campaign reflects our Emirati youth volunteers’ strong sense of purpose and desire to contribute to their community as well as their civic engagement and capabilities,” she said.
