important facts
Approximately 300,000 people drown each year worldwide. Drowning disproportionately affects children and young people. Children under the age of 5 account for nearly a quarter of all drownings. Drowning is the fourth leading cause of death for children ages 1-4 and the third leading cause of death for children ages 5-14. Drowning occurs in low- and middle-income countries. Resolutions approved by the United Nations General Assembly and the World Health Assembly provide a roadmap for global drowning prevention efforts.
overview
Drowning is the process of experiencing breathing problems due to submersion/immersion in liquid. Outcomes are categorized as death, morbidity, or no morbidity.
However, the global burden of drowning affects all economies and regions.
Drowning mortality rates in low- and middle-income countries are more than three times higher than in high-income countries, and more than half of the world’s drownings occur in the WHO Western Pacific Region and WHO Southeast Asia Region.
Since 2000, the global drowning death rate has decreased by 38%, from 6.1 to 3.8 per 100,000 people. Despite this progress, drowning remains a preventable public health crisis, and the rate of decline seen over the past 20 years is on the way to achieving the many Sustainable Development Goals to which drowning prevention contributes. has not reached the required level.
risk factors
year
Young children are particularly at risk of drowning because their ability to assess risk is underdeveloped and they lack swimming and water safety skills. When a child comes into contact with water outside of the active supervision of an adult, the risk of drowning increases.
Children and young people aged 0-29 years account for more than half (57%) of all drownings. Children aged 0 to 4 years have the highest per capita drowning rate. At the regional level, the drowning rate for children aged 0 to 4 years is highest in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, with 16.8 deaths per 100,000 population. In the WHO Western Pacific Region, children aged 5 to 14 years die more frequently from drowning than from other causes.
sex
The drowning death rate for men is more than twice that of women. Men are more likely to be hospitalized for non-fatal drowning than women. Research suggests that higher drowning rates among men are due to increased water exposure and risky behaviors such as swimming alone, drinking alcohol before swimming alone, and boating. I am.
poverty and inequality
Drowning disproportionately affects poor and marginalized people. Whether using ponds, rivers, or lakes for bathing and washing clothes, or open wells to fetch water, daily exposure patterns in low- and middle-income countries are leading to higher rates of drowning. poses a risk.
occupational exposure
People in occupations such as commercial fishing or subsistence fishing are at a significantly higher risk of drowning. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that more than 32,000 fishermen die on the job each year. Climate change is making extreme weather events and natural disasters more prevalent and destructive, exacerbating the dangerous conditions in which most fishermen work.
climate-related risks
Climate change is causing more extreme weather events such as floods and heat waves. 75% of deaths caused by flood disasters are due to drowning. The risk of drowning in floods is particularly high in low- and middle-income countries where early warning systems and flood mitigation infrastructure are less developed.
Heat waves increase the risk of drowning. As temperatures rise, more people seek water to escape the heat, and it is common to spend extended periods of time in and on water.
water transport
Traveling on water can increase the risk of drowning, especially when traveling under hazardous weather conditions or without proper safety equipment. In many low- and middle-income countries, water transport regulations are much less regulated than in high-income countries. Daily commutes are often made on overcrowded and unsafe vessels operated by staff who are not trained to recognize hazardous conditions or navigate high seas.
migration and evacuation
Conflict, political and economic instability, and climate change are causing more people to flee and migrate. Many people migrate using highly dangerous and irregular routes, including crossing vast oceans of water in dangerous conditions, and often without safety equipment or training. use overcrowded and unsafe vessels operated by unqualified personnel.
prevention
There are many actions you can take to prevent drowning. Covering wells, using entry/exit bars and playpens, fencing swimming pools, and controlling access to other water hazards will greatly reduce exposure and risk to water hazards.
Community-based supervised child care for preschoolers reduces the risk of drowning and has other proven health benefits. Teaching school-age children basic swimming, water safety, and safe rescue techniques is another approach. However, these efforts focus on safety and overall risk management, including safety-tested curricula, safe training areas, screening and selection of students, and student-to-instructor ratios established for safety. It must be done with the
The WHO investment case, which models investments in drowning prevention between now and 2050, shows scaling up only two interventions to reduce costs. By investing in preschool day care programs and teaching children basic swimming skills, 774,000 fewer children will drown between now and 2050. In addition, an additional 178,000 children would be saved from serious life-threatening injuries from non-fatal drownings. over the same period. Scaling up these two interventions is expected to save more than US$400 billion. This is a benefit nine times greater than the cost of scaling up the intervention.
Effective policies and laws are also important for drowning prevention. Setting and enforcing safe boating, shipping, and ferry regulations is essential to improving safety on the water and preventing drowning. Building resilience and managing flood risk through better disaster preparedness planning, land use planning and early warning systems can help prevent drowning during flood disasters.
Developing a national water safety strategy provides a framework to guide strategic direction and multisectoral action, and allows for monitoring and evaluation of efforts.
WHO response
The Global Status Report on Drowning Prevention shows that despite significant declines in drowning rates in recent years, drowning remains an urgent and often overlooked global health problem. Governments must strengthen proven preventive measures and prioritize the integration of drowning prevention with other public health challenges.
In April 2021, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the first ever drowning prevention resolution, highlighting the links between sustainable development, social equity, urban health, climate change, disaster risk reduction, and children’s health and well-being. The resolution called on the WHO to coordinate multisectoral drowning prevention efforts within the United Nations system and announced July 25 as World Drowning Prevention Day.
In May 2023, the 76th World Health Assembly adopted a resolution accelerating further action by 2029. Through this resolution, WHO committed to establishing a global alliance to prevent drowning with organizations in the United Nations system, international development partners, and NGOs. Additionally, WHO plans to produce a global status report on drowning prevention for publication in 2024.
At the country level, WHO works with ministries of health in several low- and middle-income countries to guide the development of national drowning prevention strategies and support the implementation of evidence-based drowning prevention interventions. Additionally, WHO is funding research to explore priorities for drowning prevention in low-income countries. At the regional level, WHO organizes training programs and holds workshops bringing together representatives of governments, NGOs and UN agencies working on drowning prevention.
