News and Facts: Press Release

NATIONAL SAFE KIDS CAMPAIGN BECOMES SAFE KIDS WORLDWIDE 

Safe Kids Worldwide positioned to become global leader in preventing accidental childhood injuries

WASHINGTON , DC - The National SAFE KIDS Campaign is now Safe Kids Worldwide. This evolution reflects the union of the nearly two-decade-old Safe Kids grassroots network in the United States with the burgeoning international Safe Kids movement, each with the mission of preventing accidental injuries to children ages 14 and under.

In addition to the new name, a new logo and brand identity have been introduced. Following a two-year transition period, these will be shared by all Safe Kids member countries and local coalitions. Currently, there are 16 member countries and more than 450 local coalitions.

Accidental injuries are a leading killer of kids across the globe. Each year more than one million children die, and many more are injured, by accidents that could have been prevented. Safe Kids Worldwide will continue to follow the proven injury prevention model, conducting public outreach and awareness campaigns, stimulating hands-on grassroots activity, creating safe environments and working to make injury prevention a public policy priority. Safe Kids has already made significant progress in reducing the risk of accidental injury to children - in the United States , the national accidental injury death rate among children ages 14 and under has declined more than 40 percent since the inception of Safe Kids - and the visibility of unified global operations will enhance the organization's efforts.

"While preventable injuries are now the leading killer in most industrialized countries, they are also poised to outrank diseases among children in developing nations in the next two decades," says Martin R. Eichelberger, M.D., president and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide. "There is an urgent need for a global organization that can compile research, develop community programs and share best practices. Each Safe Kids Worldwide member country will apply that knowledge in a culturally appropriate way at the grassroots level."

Launched in 1987 by Children's National Medical Center and Founding Sponsor Johnson & Johnson, the National SAFE KIDS Campaign was the first and only national nonprofit organization dedicated solely to the prevention of Accidental childhood injury. Safe Kids expanded in 1992 when Canada became its first international affiliate. Since then, 14 other members have joined, including Brazil , Austria , Korea and China . The goal of Safe Kids Worldwide is to reduce the accidental childhood injury death rate by 25 percent in member countries by the year 2014.

The union of the two organizations is the culmination of a strategic planning process initiated in 2002. The new logo and brand identity are the result of more than two years of research with key internal and external stakeholders.

To see them, please visit the all-new Safe Kids Web site at www.safekids.org.