Strap & Safe Child Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that advocates the importance of Child Safety on the Road, at Home, and in School. Strap& Safe Child Foundation has a mandate for promoting safe driving and children transiting habits – the use of seat-belts and other forms of restraints as appropriate, to reduce the risk of death in case of an accident of children between age 0 -12 years. —We reiterate the “Better safe than sorry”  approach to our campaign and inform stake-holders about safety-related habits on the Road, at Home, and in School. Our interventions address the danger of not using restraints for children in moving vehicles and the fatal consequences of disobeying traffic law. All our interventions are done in collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), NIGERIANS UNITE FOR ROAD SAFETY (NUFORSA), Private Organizations, and the COALITION FOR ROAD SAFETY of Nigeria (CORSAN).

Every child has the right to be safe at home, in school, and on the road. The safety of a child is not only the responsibility of parents. It is the responsibility of parents, caregivers, teachers, government agencies, non-governmental agencies, and the media. The Lagos State Child Rights Law of 2007 Section 2 (subsection 2) states that; “Every person, institution, service, agency, organization, and body responsible for the care or protection of children shall conform with the standards laid down by the appropriate authorities, particularly in the areas of safety, health, welfare, and suitability of their staff and competent supervision”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics confirm that a child is killed in an accident every three minutes around the world, 42 percent of children are killed by recklessness, speeding, drunken motorists. The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) of Nigeria stated that 1,903 children had died in road accidents in Nigeria between 2010 and 2014. According to the commission, 1,903 children were killed, and 8,667 others were injured in 61,806 reported cases of road crashes during the period. “1,138 males and 765 female children died in the last 5 years, while 5,426 males and 3,241 female children were also injured during the same period. “Global statistics on road crashes indicate that around 186,300 children under 18 years die from road traffic crashes annually.

In fulfillment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 “Good health and Well-being”, target 3.6 which states; “By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents”, it, therefore, becomes imperious that child safety should be given utmost priority by government in enforcing legislation regarding child safety laws. While government agencies and institutions play their role, it is imperative that the private sector, non-governmental agencies, and concerned individuals also play their part in curbing the menace faced with children’s safety at home, on the road, and in school.