Cape Town - The NSRI has reiterated the World Health Organization’s (WHO) call to “do one thing” to prevent drowning.
The WHO noted that drowning is one of the leading causes of death globally for children and young people aged 1-24 years, with an estimated 236 000 drownings year.
More than 90% of drowning deaths occur in low and middle-income countries, with children under the age of five being at highest risk, it said.
NSRI Executive Director of Drowning Prevention Dr Jill Fortuin said to mark World Drowning Prevention Day, initiatives such as Water Safety Education, Survival Swimming, Deployment of Pink Rescue Buoys were some of the key programmes within the organisation.
“These deaths (drownings) are frequently linked to daily, routine activities, such as bathing, collecting water for domestic use, travelling over water on boats or ferries, and through occupational activity, such as fishing and aquaculture.
“The impacts of seasonal or extreme weather events – including monsoons – are also a frequent cause of drowning and are largely preventable through a number of interventions.
“The 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,” Dr Fortuin said.
Examples of actions that can be taken to prevent drownings include:
Individuals can share drowning prevention and water safety advice with their families, friends, and colleagues; sign up for swimming or water safety lessons; or support local drowning prevention charities and groups.
Groups can host public events to share water safety information; launch water safety campaigns, or commit to developing or delivering new drowning prevention programmes using recommended best practice interventions.
Governments can develop or announce new drowning prevention policies, strategies, legislation, or investment; convene multisectoral roundtables or parliamentary discussions on drowning burden and solutions, and introduce or commit to supporting drowning prevention programming domestically or internationally.
Cape Times