Geneva, July 26 (dpa/GNA) – Some 300,000 people drown worldwide every year, and it is one of the 10 leading causes of death among 5 to 14-year-olds, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Thursday.
The WHO has now published its first-ever action plan called PROTECT, to reduce these figures. July 25 is World Drowning Prevention Day, which is used in many countries to run campaigns raising awareness of the dangers. “Climate change is increasing drowning risks. Extreme weather events such as floods, storms and heatwaves are becoming more frequent, contributing to higher risk of drowning,” the WHO said in its plan.
Among other things, the WHO recommends that member states take measures to make riverbanks and beaches safer, and proposes swimming lessons for children as well as lifesaving courses for paramedics and members of the public, who are interested.
WHO’s strategy recognizes that “countries are at different stages of progress,” so the package is intended to be “adapted to national contexts and used alongside existing public health, sustainable development, climate resilience and economic development efforts.”
The WHO said the warmer the world becomes, the more often people go into the water to cool off. Studies in the UK suggest that the number of people who drown rises by 7.2% for every additional degree of heat.
GNA