MAGNITUDE AND IMPACT 8

Introduction

Drowning ranks as the third leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in the south-East asia region, after road traffic injuries and falls. in 2019 alone, 70 034 deaths in the region were attributed to drowning.2 However, it is important to acknowledge that these statistics are likely to be an under-estimation of the true burden and impact for many reasons, including that WHO global estimates for drowning do not include deaths from climate-related extreme weather events or disasters. this underrepresentation could be as much as 50% in countries where extreme weather events and incidents are common3 – many of which are in the south-East asia region.

The WHO Global Report on Drowning (2016)4 outlines four strategies and six interventions for drowning prevention (Fig. 1).

At the national level, WHO recommends that each country develops and implements a national water safety plan which outlines the main principles, goals, objectives, actions and coordination mechanisms for reducing drowning. A comprehensive response to drowning requires formalized multisectoral coordination mechanisms to identify and align efforts which work to prevent drowning deaths, establish partnerships across sectors and assign clear roles and responsibilities. Strong data collection systems and quality reporting mechanisms are critical for understanding risk factors for drowning and assessing the effectiveness of interventions. Strategic communications should be used to strengthen public awareness on drowning, to support the uptake and success of prevention measures.

2 Global health estimates: leading causes of death. In: Global Health Observatory [website] (https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/ themes/mortality-and-global-health-estimates/ghe-leading-causes-of-death, accessed 10 July 2021). 3 WHO global report on drowning: preventing a leading killer. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014 (https://www.who.int/ publications/i/item/global-report-on-drowning-preventing-a-leading-killer, accessed 10 July 2021). 4 Ibid.