World Health Organisation estimates that 9,600 drowning fatalities in 2021 in Bangladesh dropped significantly from 21,112 deaths of 2018.
In a first-ever global report on drowning launched on Friday, WHO also estimates that globally estimated numbers of drowning deaths have fallen 20 per cent over the past two decades, from 3,75,000 in 2000 to 3,00,000 in 2021.
The report also revealed that drowning was a significant threat to the lives of children and young people, ranking as the third leading global cause of death for children aged from 5 to 14 years, and fourth leading global cause of death for children aged 1-4 years.
Over 90 per cent of drowning deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, highlighting that vulnerable communities are most at risk.
WHO launched the report titled 鈥楪lobal Status Report on Drowning Prevention 2024鈥� at Intercontinental Hotel in Gevena in Switzerland on the day.
The report is a result of statistics from 139 countries and territories across the world and is funded by the Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Citing the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey 2018, the report said 40 per cent of the children aged between 1 and 4 years died due to drowning followed by 23 per cent of the children aged between 5 and 9 years, 14 per cent people aged between 40 and 59 per cent, each 6 per cent of people aged between 25 and 39 years and people aged over 60 years, 5 per cent people aged between 0 and 4 years and 3 per cent people aged between 10 and 14 years and 15 and 17 years each die from drowning.
The governments of Bangladesh and Ireland are praised in the report for championing the adoption of the UN General Assembly and World Health Assembly resolutions on drowning prevention and endorsing World Drowning Prevention Day in 2021 marked on 25 July.
The decline in drowning related deaths varies widely as it decreased by 68 per cent in the European region but only by 3 per cent in the African region.
In 2021, the highest 84,000 deaths or 28 per cent of the total deaths from drowning occurred in the Western Pacific Region, the Southeast Asia region experienced 83,000 deaths or 28 per cent, followed by the African region with 66,000 deaths or 22 per cent, the Eastern Mediterranean region 35,000 deaths or 12 per cent, the region of the Americas 17,000 deaths or 6 per cent and while the European region saw 15,000 deaths or 5 per cent.
At the report launching event, WHO Department for Social Determinants of Health director Etienne Krug termed drowning as a silent killer.
Bloomberg Philanthropies public health team representative Kelly Larson praised the role of Bangladesh government in preventing drowning by investing in the Integrated Community-based Centre for Child Care, Protection and Swin-Safe Facilities project.
The report says that drowning deaths remain a tragic and preventable public health crisis, and the declines seen in the past two decades fall short of what is needed to meet the wide range of SDG targets to which drowning prevention can contribute.
