The Kulluna Health and Safety Campaign has organised a training course on the safest use of children’s car seats.

The course, which is part of an initiative to raise awareness for improving child safety, was attended by volunteers from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and various organisations with a shared goal of keeping Qatar’s children safe.

Dr Khalid Abdulnoor, director of Hamad International Training Centre (HITC) and chairman of Kulluna, said: “This training course comes as part of our ongoing campaign to increase awareness among the people of Qatar about the importance of children’s safety, at home and outside home, aiming to minimise children’s injury and death resulting from parents’ failure to follow safety rules for their children, particularly in cars.”

The course instructors comprised HMC staff and visiting instructors from the US - all specialists in the field of child safety.



Dr Khalid Abdulnoor, chairman, Kulluna campaign.

During the event, around 40 volunteer participants were trained on how to use various types of car seats with a focus on how to instal them, how to perform inspection and maintenance and how to select the suitable car seat for one’s child. The intention of the course was to be able to provide knowledge to a volunteer group that could then teach others.

“Specialised instructors are brought from the US to conduct intensive training courses with the aim of creating a technical elite among Qatar’s population, who will then educate other people at various public places and raise their awareness about the importance of car seats,”
Dr Abdulnoor added.

Dr Abdulnoor pointed out that Kulluna has special educational caravans moving between several places, such as schools, public parks, shopping malls or even some residential compounds, offering child safety advice. If anyone is unable to benefit from this facility, they can contact HITC, which provides free expert-led education to the public on how to select, instal and maintain children’s car seats.

Dr Abdulnoor emphasised the importance of using the children’s car seat as it protects a child from injury resulting from sudden stops and collisions. “Selecting a car seat depends on several factors, including the child’s weight, age, height and health condition, in addition to the fact that some cars need special seats. Unfortunately, there is a very low level of awareness about these factors among the public. This is why HITC frequently launches public awareness campaigns and provides free inspection and
maintenance service.”