TN Min Sekar Babu unveils Helmets for Kids initiative for road safety awareness
**Wearing a helmet can reduce risk of head injury by 85%
**Various ground events organized to raise awareness
Chennai, 14 November 2023 : In an effort to raise awareness on road safety and protect children from road accid ents, Thiru P.K. Sekar Babu, Honourable Minister for Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments, participated in the last day of the “Helmets For Kids” campaign today. The campaign is a special initiative by the Apollo Shine Fo undation, a campus health non-profit dedicated to the health and safety of children in schools and colleges. Har shad Reddy, Director, Apollo Shine Foundation and Dr Upendra Kinjawadekar, National President – Indian Acad emy of Pediatrics were present at the event, organized as part of Children’s day celebrations.
The Foundation launched the campaign on World Trauma Day (October 17th) in light of the rise in the number of road accidents and the evolving discourse on road safety and trauma-related injuries. The campaign, centred on the slogan ‘No Excuse OK, Wear A Helmet’, calls upon children to become aware of the protection a helmet can offer and to always wear a helmet when riding a two-wheeler. As part of this effort, a team from the Apollo Shin e Foundation visited a host of schools, gifted students with child helmets and held educative sessions to raise aw areness around the cause. Poster-making contests were also organized to encourage students to get creative ab out themes such as road safety, protection from trauma-related head injuries and the importance of wearing a helmet.
Harshad Reddy, Director, Apollo Shine Foundation, said, “The Apollo Shine Foundation is pleased to launch the Helmets For Kids initiative to promote road safety among children. Children are our future – this awareness dri ve is an attempt to encourage children to become more sensitized and adopt simple yet significant life-saving m easures as part of their commute. Wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85% – we have attemp ted to bring together a range of stakeholders such as parents, teachers, students, physicians and government to deliver this message and create an impact that can be felt at the individual and community levels.”
The Apollo Shine Foundation also partnered with the Indian Academy of Pediatrics and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the event. The pack was inked to promote awareness about lifestyle diseases and e ncourage healthy choices among children. Dr Indira Jayakumar, Pediatric Intensivist and Medical Director of the Foundation stated that inculcating healthy habits and making healthy choices at a young, impressionable age c an greatly help in combating Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and foster a generation that not only excels academically but also leads fulfilling and healthy lives.
About Apollo Hospitals
It was in 1983, that Dr Prathap C Reddy made a pioneering endeavor by launching India’s first corporate hospital – Apollo Hospitals in Chennai. Now, as Asia’s foremost trusted integrated healthcare group, its presence includes over 12,000 beds across 72 Hospitals and 5000 pharmacies, over 400 Primary Care clinics and 1228 Diagnostic c entres, 700 plus Teleclinics, over 15 medical education centres and a Research Foundation with a focus on globa l Clinical Trials. The most recent investment was the commissioning of South East Asia’s very first Proton Therapy Centre in Chennai.
Every four days, the Apollo Hospitals Group touches a million lives, in its mission to bring healthcare of internat ional standards within the reach of every individual. In a rare honour, the Government of India had issued a com memorative stamp in recognition of Apollo’s contribution, the first for a healthcare organization. Apollo Hospita ls Chairman, Dr Prathap C Reddy, was conferred with the prestigious Padma Vibhushan in 2010.
For 40 years, the Apollo Hospitals Group has continuously excelled and maintained leadership in medical innova tion, world-class clinical services and cutting-edge technology. Its hospitals are consistently ranked amongst the best hospitals in the country for advanced medical services.
