BANGKOK, Thailand – The Ministry of Public Health is expanding its “100 Hospitals, 100 Child Safety Seat Banks” initiative nationwide to improve access to child safety seats and reduce injuries and deaths among young passengers. Public Health Minister Pattana Promphat and WHO Representative to Thailand Dr. Ailan Li visited an exhibition on the initiative at the Department of Disease Control on September 8, 2026. The Minister noted that Thai law requires children aged six or younger, or under 135 centimeters tall, to use a child safety seat in cars. However, many families face challenges with awareness, proper use, and affordability, as seats typically cost 4,000–10,000 baht.
To address these challenges, the Department of Disease Control, Thai Health Promotion Foundation, and road-safety partners established child safety seat banks at participating hospitals. The program also offers guidance to parents through antenatal and child health clinics. Following a pilot at six hospitals, the initiative will expand to all 77 provinces in 2026. Proper use of child safety seats can reduce the risk of death among young children by up to 70%.
The program accepts new and used child safety seats in good condition, which are inspected before being distributed to families in need. As of September 2, 719 seats had been received, with 447 distributed and 272 available. A Car Seat Dashboard is being developed to track donations and distribution and to improve allocation based on local demand.
The WHO representative welcomed the initiative as a contribution to Thailand’s efforts to reduce road traffic injuries and deaths by at least 50% by 2030. The public is encouraged to support the campaign by donating clean, functional safety seats through participating hospitals, the Department of Disease Control, Toyota service centers, Thailand Post, Flash Express, Lalamove, and the Thai Medical Women’s Association. (NNT)
