Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) published its first-ever report on drowning prevention, which reveals a 38% drop in the global drowning death rate 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 be drowning every hour and 3,00,000 people dying by drowning in 2021 alone.
It goes on to say that more than 7.2 million people, mainly children, could die by drowning by the year 2050 if current trends continue. Almost half of all drowning deaths occur among people below the age of 29 years, and a quarter occur among children under the age of 5 years. Children without adult supervision are at an especially high risk of drowning. As per data shared by the global health body, over two lakh lives are lost annually to drowning, a preventable cause of death.
Added to that an increasing number of people are being displaced from their homes due to conflict, violence, political or economic instability, as well as climate change and other disasters.
In many cases, people resort to irregular channels for migration that are extremely hazardous. The Missing Migrants Project, led by the International Organisation for Migration, estimates that more than 67,922 people have lost their lives during unsafe migration journeys since 2014. Of these deaths, 39,383 (57%) are attributed to drowning.
In India, according to government data, 38,000 cases of drowning were reported in the country in 2023, which is a significant number and to prevent these cases, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has initiated programmes to generate mass awareness, especially in rural areas that primarily report cases.
As per the National Crime Records Bureau-Accidental Deaths and Suicides (2012), eighty persons die of drowning each day in India, which accounts for 7.4% of all unnatural deaths. In 2013, there were 29,456 deaths due to drowning and 440 deaths due to malaria. In Kerala, drowning accounts for 14.3% of all unnatural deaths.
As per Sangeetha Suresh, a researcher who carried out an epidemiological study of drowning survivors among 8,000 school children in the age group of 5 to 15 years, in India's Malabar region, says, "In India, very little is known about the epidemiology of drowning. There is almost no awareness or protocols to prevent drowning.”
“In Kerala, drowning accounts for 14.3% of all unnatural deaths. Yet, there is no preventive or awareness program for drowning. Adolescent boys are at the highest risk during recreational activities and school vacations. Ponds are the most common area of drowning incidents in the Malabar region. More than two-thirds of drowning sites had no protective measures such as fencing, floatation devices, or lifeguards. This indicates that public awareness and water safety measures need to be improved,” she added.
How to prevent drowning?
WHO recommends a series of community-based actions for drowning prevention, which include the installation of barriers to prevent child access to water, provision of safe places away from water for pre-school children, teaching school-aged children basic swimming water safety and safe rescue skills, training people in rescue and resuscitation, strengthening public awareness on drowning, setting and enforcing safe boating, shipping and ferry regulations and improving flood risk management.
