The Alliance for Safe Children

The Alliance for Safe Children (TASC) is a non-profit organization formed in 2002 to address the issue of child injury in the developing world.[1] The founder is Pete Peterson, former United States Ambassador to Vietnam.[2] Michael Linnon is the technical director.[3]

The Alliance for Safe Children
Founded2002
FounderPete Peterson
FocusPreventable injury in developing world
Location
Area served
Asia
MethodCampaigning, building collaborative networks, education, research
Key people
Michael Linnon (technical director)
Website

TASC works in cooperation with other organizations, such as the Red Cross and UNICEF.[4][5] Its aims include raising awareness of child injury; promoting injury prevention programmes; conducting and supporting research;[6] and raising funds and creating alliances with NGOs, international organisations and governments so that the number of child injuries can be reduced.[1] TASC's objectives are driven in part by studies suggesting that far more children die from preventable injury than from infectious disease - according to UNICEF about one million children die of preventible injuries each year.[2] A common specific cause of death is drowning.[7]

2004 conference and 2008 report

They worked with UNICEF, with whom they organized a conference in 2004 that reported on their findings from surveys and research; the keynote speaker was Kul Gautam, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, who praised TASC and its founder.[8] The conference, according to a report to the Executive Board of UNICEF, was to lead to "the development of programmes on child injury prevention."[9] In 2008 the results of their seven-year "groundbreaking study"[5] were published, in a report that indicated that suffocation and drowning were the most easily preventable causes of death for children under five years of age.[10] The publication of the report generated interest from printed media around the world[11][12][13] and from Australian television.[14]

International Drowning Research Centre
See also: SwimSafe

Since 2005, TASC has assisted organizations in providing swimming lessons for children in Bangladesh.[15] With help from the Australian government, TASC partnered with the Royal Life Saving Society Australia, in establishing an International Drowning Research Centre based in Dhaka and opened in August 2010.[16][17] In Bangladesh, an estimated 46 children drown each day, and four times as many nearly drown.[18] The aim is to teach children, especially those from poorer sections of society, how to swim, with the focus being on teaching older children "who can not only save themselves but can also help others." The centre also teaches cardiopulmonary resuscitation and basic rescue skills.[3]

See also

References
  1. TASC info page hosted on International Life Saving Federation web site. (retrieved Oct. 2010)
  2. "Children from developing world dying of preventable injuries: UN". ABC News. 6 October 2002. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  3. Ethirajan, Anbarasan (4 October 2010). "Drowning: Bangladesh's invisible epidemic". BBC News. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  4. "Former US Ambassador wants to assist Vietnamese children". VOV News. 30 April 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  5. "UNICEF Says Injuries A Fatal Problem For Asian Children". All Headline News. 13 March 2008. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  6. Giashuddin, Sheikh M; Aminur Rahman; Fazlur Rahman; Saidur Rahman Mashreky; Salim Mahmud Chowdhury; Michael Linnan; Shumona Shafinaz (2009). "Socioeconomic inequality in child injury in Bangladesh – implication for developing countries". International Journal for Equity in Health. 8 (7). Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  7. Freedman, Lynn P. (2005). Who's got the power?: transforming health systems for women and children. Earthscan. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-84407-224-8.
  8. "Towards a World Safe for Children: UNICEF/TASC Conference on Child Injury" (PDF). UNICEF. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  9. Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund: Report of the First, Second And Annual Sessions of 2004. United Nations. 2005. p. 29. ISBN 978-92-1-880063-3.
  10. "Drowning, Homicide and Suicide Leading Killers for Children in Asia". The Salem News. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  11. "Drowning is top killer of Asian kids, report says". WTOL. 13 March 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  12. "Børnene drukner og dør i trafikken". Ekstra Bladet. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  13. "UNICEF : alarme sur le nombre d'enfants victimes d'accidents". Le Courrier. 18 March 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  14. Woods, Mike (18 March 2008). "Injury a leading killer for children in Asia". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  15. "'17,000 Children Drown a Year'". The Daily Star. 22 December 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  16. "50 children drown daily in Bangladesh". The Daily Star. 5 August 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  17. "Australian Government Partnership Announced". Royal Life Saving Society Australia. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  18. "Children Drowning, Drowning Children" (PDF). The Alliance for Safe Children. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
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