•The WHO said more than 90 per cent of drowning deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, with children under the age of five being at the highest risk.
•Swimming or water safety lessons, or supporting local drowning prevention charities and groups can help
Image: FILE
World Health Organization (WHO) has called on countries to put efforts to prevent drowning, one of the leading causes of death globally for children and young people ages 1–24.
According to the latest WHO data published in 2020, drownings deaths in Kenya reached 1,200 or 0.46 per cent of total deaths, placing Kenya number 103 in drawings in the world.
Globally, drowning claims more than 236 000 lives each year.
The WHO said more than 90 per cent of drowning deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, with children under the age of five being at the highest risk.
These deaths are frequently linked to daily, routine activities, such as bathing, collecting water for domestic use, travelling over water on boats or ferries, and fishing.
The impacts of seasonal or extreme weather events are also a frequent cause of drowning and these impacts are largely preventable through a number of interventions.
“Every year, around the world, hundreds of thousands of people drown. Most of these deaths are preventable through evidence-based, low-cost solutions,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a statement.
“Today, cities around the world are lighting up their monuments in blue light as a call to action for each of us to do our part to prevent drowning. Let’s put a stop to drowning.”
WHO recommends six evidence-based measures to prevent drowning, including installing barriers, controlling access to water; training bystanders in safe rescue and resuscitation; teaching school-aged children basic swimming and water safety skills; providing supervised daycare for children; setting and enforcing safe boating, shipping and ferry regulations; and improving flood risk management.
“Drowning is a global public health challenge, and at Bloomberg Philanthropies, we’re focused on implementing solutions to prevent it. Today, we’re joining our partners around the world in recognizing World Drowning Prevention Day and taking action,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries.
“In many cases, we know what works to prevent drowning. We’ve developed tools and guidance to help governments implement solutions – and if we do more together, we really can save thousands of lives.”
This year, the theme of World Drowning Prevention Day, marked on July 25, invites the global community to “do one thing” to prevent drowning.
Examples of actions that can be taken include swimming or water safety lessons, or supporting local drowning prevention charities and groups
Many countries in the world have committed to drowning prevention programmes.
Bangladesh has started a three-year program to reduce drowning among children throughout the country.
As part of the program, the government will take over the 2 500 daycares established and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies since 2012, and will expand the program by adding an additional 5 500 daycares to provide supervision to 200 000 children ages 1–5 years.