The World Health Organization (WHO) publishes its first report on drowning prevention, which reveals a 38% reduction in the global death rate from drowning since 2000 – a major global health achievement.
However, the report notes that drowning remains a major public health issue, with more than 30 people estimated to drown every hour and 300,000 people dying from drowning in 2021 alone. Almost half of drowning deaths occur in people under the age of 29 years and a quarter in children under 5 years of age. Unsupervised children are at a particularly high risk of drowning.
The significant reduction in drowning deaths since 2000 is great news and proof that the simple, practical interventions recommended by the WHO are working. However, one death by drowning is one death too many, and millions of people are still at risk. This report contains critical data for policy making and recommendations for urgent action to save lives.”
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General
Progress in reducing drowning has been uneven. Globally, 9 out of 10 drowning deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. The WHO European region saw a 68% drop in the rate of drowning deaths between 2000 and 2021, but the rate fell by just 3% in the WHO African region, which has the highest rate of any region at 5.6 deaths per 100,000 individuals. This may be influenced by levels of national commitment to addressing the issue: within the African Region, only 15% of countries had a national strategy or plan to prevent drowning, compared to 45% of countries in the European Region.
“Drowning remains a major public health issue, but progress is possible, particularly if governments work with strong partners at the local level,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, Global Ambassador for WHO for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries and 108th mayor of New York. “For more than a decade, Bloomberg Philanthropies has supported governments and local organizations leading effective drowning prevention efforts. This new report shows what more countries can do to save thousands of lives each year.”
Clear guidelines are outlined to reduce deaths, but uptake varies
More than 7.2 million people, mostly children, could die from drowning by 2050 if current trends continue. However, most drowning deaths could be prevented by implementing WHO-recommended interventions.
WHO recommends a range of community actions to prevent drowning, which include:
- installing barriers to prevent children from accessing the water;
- Providing safe spaces away from the water for preschool children, teaching school children basic water safety skills of swimming and safe rescue;
- training people in rescue and resuscitation;
- increasing public awareness of drowning;
- making and enforcing regulations for safe ships, shipping and ferries; and
- improving flood risk management.
The report found that WHO’s evidence-based drowning prevention interventions are implemented to varying degrees.
- Encouragingly, 73% of countries have search and rescue services and a further 73% have community flood risk mitigation programs in place
- However, only 33% of countries offer national programs to train bystanders in safe rescue and resuscitation, and only 22% integrate swimming and water safety training into their school curricula.
Accurate data is vital to inform prevention strategies, yet only 65% ​​of countries report collecting drowning data through their civil registry and vital statistics systems. Further qualitative data are urgently needed to raise awareness of the issue and mobilize governments and communities to take action.
The report identifies strengths and weaknesses in policy and legislation:
- While 81% of countries have passenger safety laws for boat travel:
- Just 44% of these laws require regular safety inspections of vessels and
- Only 66% of countries mandate the use of a life jacket for recreational boating and water transport.
- Worryingly, 86% of countries lack a law on fencing around swimming pools, which is key to preventing child drowning in some settings.
This report, developed in response to a Member State request submitted through World Health Assembly Resolution 76.18 (2023), summarizes the achievements and challenges in preventing drowning globally and provides a benchmark against which progress is monitored. This comprehensive report highlights that preventing drowning requires a coordinated response from the whole of society. Through increased cooperation and investment, those most vulnerable to drowning can be protected to ensure that the promising trends currently seen are experienced evenly and fairly.
