WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The World Health Organization has published its first-ever report on drowning prevention, which reveals a 38 percent drop in the global drowning death rate since 2000.
However, the report notes that drowning remains a major public health issue with more than 30 people estimated to be drowning every hour and 300,000 people dying by drowning in 2021 alone. 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, the report says.
'The significant decline in drowning deaths since 2000 is great news and proof that the simple, practical interventions that WHO recommends work,' said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. 'Still, every drowning death is one death too many, and millions of people remain at risk. This report contains crucial data for policy-making and recommendations for urgent action to save lives.'
At the global level, 9 in 10 drowning deaths take place in low- and middle-income countries. The WHO European Region saw a 68 percent drop in drowning death rate between 2000 and 2021.
The report found that WHO's evidence-based drowning prevention interventions are being implemented to varying degrees.
Encouragingly, 73 percent of countries have search and rescue services, and a further 73 percent implement community-based flood risk mitigation programs. However, only 33 percent of countries offer national programs to train bystanders in safe rescue and resuscitation, and just 22 percent integrate swimming and water safety training into their school curricula.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
