World Drowning Prevention Day

Welcome to World Drowning Prevention Day , July 25th , which draws attention to the scale and preventability of drowning worldwide. Backed by United Nations and World Health Assembly resolutions on drowning prevention, World Drowning Prevention Day offers a fantastic opportunity to catalyse concrete action and generate attention globally for drowning prevention and improved water safety. This Practical guide aims to inspire and support the planning of activities and events to mark World Drowning Prevention Day around the world . It provides details on how the day came about; key messages that participants can use; and offers ideas about the types of activities and events that can be developed by all sectors nationally and locally to make sure World Drowning Prevention Day is used to its full potential. On each World Drowning Prevention Day to date WHO has published resources to help better address drowning ). Together, these resources and the awareness generated by World Drowning Pr...

This short guide will help you use the official Canva templates to create and share content in support of the campaign. Whether you're an organization, advocate, or individual contributor, your voice can help save lives. Join the voices around the world who are helping to raise awareness about drowning prevention . Use the World Drowning Prevention Day Toolkit to help you capture your drowning prevention story. HOW TO RESCUE SOMEONE FROM DROWNING?  

This global advocacy event serves as an opportunity to highlight the tragic and profound impact of drowning on families and communities and offer life-saving solutions to prevent it . An estimated 236,000 people drown every year, and drowning is among the ten leading causes of death for children aged 5-14 years. More than 90% of  drowning deaths  occur in rivers, lakes, wells, domestic water storage vessels and swimming pools in low- and middle-income countries, with children and adolescents in rural areas disproportionately affected.

Drowning has caused over 2.5 million deaths in the last decade. The overwhelming majority of these deaths (90%) happen in low- and middle-income countries. Globally, the highest drowning rates occur among children aged 1–4 years, followed by children aged 5–9 years. The human, social and economic toll of these losses is intolerably high, and entirely preventable. In 2023, the 76th World Health Assembly adopted its first ever resolution on drowning prevention. The resolution accepts the invitation of the United Nations General Assembly for WHO to coordinate actions within the UN system on drowning prevention and facilitate the observance of World Drowning Prevention Day on 25 July each year. To mark this year’s World Drowning Prevention Day, WHO will continue to focus on raising awareness on drowning as a public health issue, reminding people that anyone can drown, but no one should. We are also raising awareness on the six evidence-based, low-cost drowning prevention interventions tha...

Drowning is one of the leading causes of death globally for children and young people aged 1-24 years. Every year, an estimated 236,000 people drown. More than 90% of drowning deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, with children under the age of five being at highest risk. These deaths are frequently linked to daily, routine activities, such as bathing, collecting water for domestic use, travelling over water on boats or ferries, and fishing. The impacts of seasonal or extreme weather events – including monsoons – are also a frequent cause of drowning. Most of these deaths are preventable, through evidence-based, low-cost solutions, such as: installing barriers controlling access to water providing safe places away from water such as crèches for pre-school children with capable childcare teaching swimming, water safety and safe rescue skills training bystanders in safe rescue and resuscitation setting and enforcing safe boating, shipping and ferry regulations improving floo...

World Drowning Prevention Day, declared through the April 2021 UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/75/273 “Global drowning prevention” , is held annually on 25 July. This global advocacy event serves as an opportunity to highlight the tragic and profound impact of drowning on families and communities and offer life-saving solutions to prevent it. An estimated 236,000 people drown every year, and drowning is among the ten leading causes of death for children and youth aged 1-24 years. More than 90% of drowning deaths occur in rivers, lakes, wells and domestic water storage vessels in low- and middle-income countries, with children and adolescents in rural areas disproportionately affected. All stakeholders are invited to mark World Drowning Prevention Day – governments, UN agencies, civil society organizations, the private sector, academia and individuals – by highlighting the need for urgent, coordinated and multi-sectoral action on proven measures such as:   installing barri...