New York, April 28 – For the first time in its 75-year history, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on governments worldwide to adopt measures to prevent drowning.

The UN said drowning claims 235,000 lives every year, with 90 per cent of them in low- and middle-income countries, with Asia carrying the highest burden. Bangladesh is among countries with the highest drowning incidents.

The World Drowning Prevention resolution said the vast majority of drowning could and should have been prevented. Bangladesh and Ireland initiated the new resolution which was co-sponsored by 79 countries.

“Drowning is a major cause of global mortality, accounting for a greater loss of life annually, than to maternal mortality or malnutrition,” Bangladesh UN Ambassador Rabab Fatima said. “The imperative to act on drowning is not simply moral or political. The economic cost is equally untenable.”

Fatima said drowning is a leading cause of child mortality in Bangladesh and the resolution provides a framework for global and national cooperation to prevent drowning.

Ireland’s UN Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason said, “As an island nation, Ireland knows well both the promise and risk that water presents. It is our immense pleasure to partner with the Government of Bangladesh – on the frontline of the fight against drowning – in sponsoring this initiative. This resolution, and the first ever World Drowning Prevention Day on July 25, are a moment to highlight the immediate need for strategic and significant international action to save lives and prevent hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths.”

The World Health Organization said its latest estimates showed 235,000 deaths by drowning every year. It said drowning and some preventable diseases disproportionately affect children and adolescents in rural areas.

“Through this new UN General Assembly Resolution, member states are giving drowning its due recognition, commensurate with the impact it has on families and communities around the world,” said Dr Etienne Krug, Director of the Department of Social Determinants of Health at WHO.

The resolution said that drowning is preventable and that scalable, low-cost interventions exist. Governments are encouraged, on a voluntary basis, to undertake a range of coordinated recognized interventions, relevant to national circumstances.

Michael Bloomberg, the WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries, said the resolution is encouraging governments to adopt effective measures to prevent drowning will save thousands of lives and call attention to this urgent public health issue.

“For nearly a decade, Bloomberg Philanthropies has been working in Bangladesh and other countries where drowning rates are especially high. Our work has helped save lives and demonstrated the effectiveness of low-cost interventions like those outlined in today’s resolution. We have the tools to prevent these deaths – and need to act on them now,” Bloomberg said.

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