The United Nations (UN)’s World Drowning Prevention Day is annually observed across the globe on 25 July to highlight the tragic impact of drowning on families and communities and promote life-saving prevention measures.
- This Day offers an opportunity to catalyse concrete action and generate attention globally for drowning prevention and improved water safety.
25th July 2024 marks the observance of the 4th World Drowning Prevention Day.
Theme:
The theme of World Drowning Prevention Day 2024 is “Anyone can drown, no one should”.
- Under this theme, the World Health Organization (WHO) has chosen the slogan “Seconds can save a life”.
- The theme and slogan effectively emphasise both the universality of drowning risk and the potential for quick actions to prevent tragedy.
Background:
i.On 28th April 2021, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution (A/RES/75/273) on global drowning prevention, proclaiming 25th July of every year as World Drowning Prevention Day.
ii.The first-ever World Drowning Prevention Day was observed on 25th July 2021.
Drowning Statistics:
i.Drowning is among the 10 leading causes of death globally for children and young people aged 1-24 years.
ii.Drowning is the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury death, accounting for 7% of all injury-related deaths.
iii.Annually, an estimated 236,000 lives are lost to drowning globally, an average of 650 deaths per day or 26 per hour drives the urgency of this issue.
- Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) account for over 90% of unintentional drowning deaths;
iv.More than half of the world’s drowning occurs in the WHO Western Pacific Region (WPR) and WHO South-East Asia Region (SEAR).
- Drowning death rates in the WHO WPR are 27-32 times higher than those in the United Kingdom (UK) or Germany, respectively.
- According to the WHO Global Health Estimates (GHE) 2019, the WHO SEAR recorded 70,034 drowning deaths, second only to the Western Pacific Region.
v.More than 90% of drowning deaths occur in rivers, lakes, wells, domestic water storage vessels, and swimming pools in LMICs.
Efforts of the WHO:
i.In 2014, the WHO published its 1st Global Report on Drowning: Preventing a Leading Killer which sets out the global drowning burden and outlines key steps to reduce it.
ii.In May 2023, the 76th World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted its first-ever resolution on drowning prevention ‘Accelerating Action on Global Drowning Prevention.’
- In collaboration with WHO, it requests governments and their partners to accelerate action on drowning prevention through 2029.
iii.The resolution was proposed by the governments of Bangladesh and Ireland, and co-sponsored by at least 72 Member States.
iv.The WHO recommends 4 strategies and 6 evidence-based, low-cost drowning prevention interventions to drastically reduce the risk of drowning at the national and community level. The 4 strategies include:
- Developing a national water safety plan;
- Promoting multisectoral collaboration;
- Advancing drowning prevention through data collection and research; and
- Strengthening public awareness of drowning through strategic communications.
v.The 6 key measures for drowning prevention:
- Installing barriers to control access to water.
- Providing safe places away from water for preschool children, with capable childcare.
- Teaching basic swimming, water safety, and safe rescue skills.
- Training bystanders in safe rescue and resuscitation.
- Setting and enforcing safe boating, shipping, and ferry regulations.
- Building resilience and managing flood risks and other hazards.
About the World Health Organisation (WHO):
The WHO was established on 7 April 1948, as a specialized agency of the UN to improve international public health.
Director General– Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
