Most Deaths from Drowning Are Preventable

GENEVA - On this first World Drowning Prevention Day, the World Health Organization offers life-saving solutions to prevent most of the 236,000 estimated deaths from drowning every year.  The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in April establishing this international day to raise awareness of drowning as a serious problem.

Summertime has been celebrated in song as the season when the living is easy. On a less celebratory note, summertime in the northern hemisphere also is the peak season for deaths by drowning. Over the past decade, the World Health Organization reports 2.5 million people have died in drowning incidents.  It says more than half of all drowning deaths are among people under age 30, with the highest rates among children under the age of five. David Meddings, a WHO medical officer, said drowning is the second leading cause of death among children and youth under age 19 in wealthy countries such as the United States, Switzerland, and France. He notes, though, drowning disproportionately affects the poor and the marginalized.