Celebrated annually on 25 July, World Drowning Prevention Day is marked by governments, organisations, community groups and individuals around the world to raise awareness about drowning as a public health issue and offer solutions for improved water safety.

The official day from the World Health Organization (WHO) is celebrating its third installment this year after it was established through a United Nations General Assembly Resolution adopted in 2021. The day, alongside its significance, has grown in stature over the past three years as more people seek to draw attention to the impacts of drowning and share practical advice for preventing drowning deaths.

“From high-level political meetings, community street parades, public workshops, charity concerts, lifesaving demonstrations to remembrance ceremonies, it is inspiring to see the passion and enthusiasm shown through widespread advocacy for the issue,” said Caroline Lukaszyk, Technical Officer for Unintentional Injury Prevention at WHO in Geneva, Switzerland.

“This year’s campaign focuses on drowning being abrupt, silent and shocking, with people often not realizing it’s happening until it’s too late.

“The power is in prevention, as seconds can save a life. We are advocating for people to stay safe around water by taking actions that can merely take seconds: whether it be checking the weather forecast before boating, choosing to not consume alcohol or drugs before entering water, or putting on a lifejacket when fishing. These are simple drowning prevention measures which can save lives,” she added.

Caroline’s background in academia as an injury epidemiologist has meant she has spent her career and research focused on preventing injuries in vulnerable populations globally, particularly among First Nations people in Australia and low-income countries across the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia. She has also worked for a number of grassroots non-governmental organisations with a focus on health and development, particularly in India and Indonesia, to reduce the risk of injury in high-risk populations around the world.

Discussing this year’s World Drowning Prevention Day, Caroline noted the importance of the maritime search and rescue (SAR) community to raise awareness of drowning prevention methods as they remain prominent organisations within local communities.

“The maritime SAR sector is a critical stakeholder for drowning prevention. Ferry accidents, under-equipped fishing fleets, and a growing local tourism industry can heighten risk of drowning and rapidly increase demand for SAR services. For this year’s World Drowning Prevention Day, there is an opportunity to amplify the importance of prevention. This could include a call to strengthen maritime safety legislation at the policy level, launching maritime safety campaigns at the community level or sharing campaign materials at an individual level.”

“The critical role of the SAR sector as a responder preventing drowning deaths enables the community to hold a strong advocacy role for drowning prevention. I attended the IMRF’s excellent World Maritime Rescue Congress (WMRC) 2023 in Rotterdam and was overwhelmed by high-risk situations SAR personnel place themselves in order to save lives at sea.

“WMRC demonstrated the importance of maritime safety policies and practices as a protective measure in many dangerous scenarios and provided a very real glimpse into potential outcomes of emergencies at sea. The ability to share these stories more broadly as a mechanism to raise awareness on the importance of safety at sea would be a hugely important contribution to the field of drowning prevention,” she added.

Looking ahead, Caroline noted that the WHO is currently developing the first global situational assessment on drowning, the results of which are set to be launched in November. This upcoming report follows a series of Regional Status Reports on Drowning Prevention, published by the WHO, investigated drowning burden, risks and existing measures for prevention across 30 countries.

“Our reports confirmed that, although drowning is a leading cause of death – particularly for young people, ranking as the sixth leading killer of children aged 5 to 14 years globally – awareness on the impacts of drowning was generally low. As a result, there was limited investment in both resource and capacity towards addressing the issue.

“There was also a strong misconception that drowning was largely unavoidable due to the broad spectrum of associated risks. The reports provided an important opportunity for dialogue regarding WHO recommendations for drowning prevention, highlighting the critical contributions of various sectors and organizations to delivering comprehensive drowning prevention strategies at national and sub-national levels,” she added.{

You can read some of the reports published by the WHO, including ‘Regional status report on drowning in South-East Asia’ and ‘Regional status report on drowning in the Western Pacific’ by clicking the following links.