DOHA: Kulluna, the health and safety campaign organised and delivered by Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Hamad International Training Center (HITC), and sponsored by ConocoPhillips Qatar, earned accolades for its child passenger safety project at the third annual Intelligent Transport Systems and Road Safety Forum held in Qatar recently.
The project is dedicated to promoting child safety on Qatar’s roads by engaging the community.
The award, Industry Recognition for Outstanding Road Safety Improvement, was received by the Director of HITC and Chairman of Kulluna, Dr Khalid Abdulnoor Saifeldeen.
“I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of all my colleagues who share my commitment and passion to promote road safety for children in Qatar. This recognition is a testament to our efforts to help future generations to be safer and healthier,” he stated.
The acknowledgement follows a number of car seat training sessions conducted by Kulluna in collaboration with Safe Kids Worldwide to educate the community and increase awareness among Qatar’s residents about car safety -- with a special emphasis on the significance of using car seats for children.
In recent months, under Kulluna’s Child Passenger Safety Training (CPST) course, about 40 volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds with a desire to save children from car-related injuries and deaths were trained by HMC staff and visiting US specialists to become child car seat technicians and instructors.
The participants emerged from the intensive training course with a strong understanding of how to use different kinds of car seats, how to install them properly, how to perform inspection, and how to select the most suitable car seat for each child according to his or her age, weight and height.
“The success of HITC’s CPST course is a great achievement for Kulluna through the outstanding partnership between HMC and Kulluna’s founding sponsor Conoco Phillips Qatar as well as our international partner Safe Kids Worldwide,” Dr Saifeldeen said.
Gary Sykes, ConocoPhillips Qatar President, commented, “We are very pleased to see that our efforts in the community are recognised for really making a positive difference. This award proves our long-standing commitment to a healthy and safe Qatar and will motivate us to work even harder to launch campaigns that are both innovative and engaging. Health and safety are two core values at ConocoPhillips, and as founding sponsor of Kulluna, our signature CSR campaign in Qatar, we are very proud of this accolade.”
According to Dr Saifeldeen, “Kulluna’s ambition is to have a greater number of technicians who will be able to pass on the knowledge about child passenger safety to the wider community and guide parents and caregivers on how to secure their children safely in car seats. Therefore, we are also working on having all training materials translated to Arabic for non-English speakers,” he added.
The use of child safety car seats is said to reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers aged one to four years. However, the use of these seats is still relatively low in Qatar and many parents are unaware of how to install the seats properly, according to Dr Saifeldeen.
“A properly installed car seat can save a child’s life in case of a car accident. We encourage the public to learn the necessary precautions in order to keep their loved ones safe and free from any danger to health.”
To facilitate interaction between the technicians and general public, Kulluna also holds regular “Car Seat Check-Up” events, where parents and caregivers have an opportunity to get their child’s car seat checked, and also gain detailed advice on purchasing or upgrading car seats.
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