On Wednesday, 27 July, the World Health Organization will host a virtual event to celebrate World Drowning Prevention Day. This webinar will connect UN agencies, governments, organizations and other global drowning prevention partners to reflect on key achievements and progress made since endorsement of the first-ever UN Resolution on Global Drowning Prevention.
This webinar will provide an opportunity to:
- Reflect on key achievements made in global drowning prevention efforts since the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution in April 2021
- Showcase the work of a range of UN agencies to prevent drowning
- Generate momentum for individual, group and government action on drowning prevention, drawing on the 2022 World Drowning Prevention Day theme: Do One Thing
- Review and recap of global World Drowning Prevention Day 2022 activities and events
The program will include:
- Video messages from Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, Michael Bloomberg, Founder, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Dr. Luwei Pearson, Associate Director for Health and Chief, Maternal Newborn Child and Adolescent Health, UNICEF.
- Presentations from Florence Poulain, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), Dr. B. Sıtkı Ustaoğlu, International Maritime Organization (IMO), Dr. Raoul III Bermejo, UNICEF.
- Panel members including Dr David Meddings and Dr Caroline Lukaszyk – World Health Organization, Dr Olive Kobusingye - Makerere University School of Public Health, Uganda, Dr Colleen Saunders - Lifesaving South Africa and University of Cape Town, Dr Catarina Queiroga – Public Health Institute University Porto, and Esha Husain - Synergos Partnership Lead, Bangladesh, and more.
How to participate
- DATE: Wednesday, 27 July, 2022
- TIME: 6:00 am (Washington, DC) / 12:00 pm (Geneva)
- REGISTER: https://who.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0ldeiorzMpG9EQR-6AlBABlSQKCWQhUZ9w
- LANGUAGE: The session will be in English
About World Drowning Prevention Day 2022
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, traveling 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 flood risk management
This year, WHO invites to “do one thing” to save lives on World #DrowningPrevent Day.
For social media WHO recommends that the hashtag #DrowningPrevention be used, including for World #DrowningPrevention Day.