Google “drowning in India,” and the search throws up at least four incidents involving multiple deaths in just the past three days: a tourist drowned at a beach in Goa; four girls between 9 and 13 drowned in a pond in Madhya Pradesh; two teenagers drowned in a river, also in Madhya Pradesh; and a 14-year-old boy saved from drowning in a river by a trainee constable in Maharashtra.
Why is it that when at least 38,000 people die of drowning every year in the country — a figure that experts say is a huge underestimate — is the issue of drowning not considered a public health crisis in India? The issue is a global problem, says Lopa Ghosh, senior communications advisor at Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI). Drowning caused over 2.5 million preventable deaths in the last decade globally, with 90% of these deaths taking place in low and middle income countries, making it the third leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide, and yet, the attention and resources allocated to it are scant.
Source: WHO Regional Status Report on Drowning in South-East Asia, 2021
At a recent workshop for journalists on drowning prevention conducted by GHAI with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies in Bangkok, experts from different countries in Asia highlighted how government and community-led initiatives could make a significant difference.
In Bangladesh for instance, 43% of child deaths were due to drowning and most children under 5 drowned within 20 metres of their home between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., said Sarwar Alam, communications manager, GHA, Bangladesh. Here, an initiative, begun by the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research Bangladesh, an injury prevention organisation, led to a significant reduction in deaths. What did they do? They first conducted a survey to understand when and how the drownings occurred, and then, with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, began ‘Aanchals’, or child care centres, where young children were looked after in safe spaces, while their parents were busy earning livelihoods or with household chores. This eventually led to a massive decrease in drowning incidents among children aged under four.
According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau, in 2022, over 70% of deaths due to drowning in India were due to accidental falls into water bodies. Of these, nearly 3,000 were children below 14, a majority of them male. The data however, says Ms. Ghosh, does not capture the real picture: many deaths go unreported, and flooding deaths, which account for a significant number, are not listed under drowning deaths in the NCRB figures.
Source: WHO Regional Status Report on Drowning in South-East Asia, 2021
Initiatives such as those begun in Bangladesh that provide safe spaces for children to play in, alongside other measures such as barricading, signage around water bodies, and swimming lessons for school-age children, are crucial measures that could help decrease drowning deaths, the experts pointed out. In Vietnam for instance, in July 2021, the government adopted a 10-year action plan on child injury prevention, which aimed at a 10% reduction in child drowning deaths by 2025. Bui Thi Thu Giang, Program Manager, Drowning Prevention Vietnam, of GHAI explained that this included integrating survival swimming and water safety into the educational curriculum, and, an early assessment of the programme showed that the rate of children who could swim nearly doubled, at the programme locations after it was implemented.
While swimming lessons remain out of reach for most children, one community-led initiative in West Bengal may show the way: a pilot project by the NGO Child in Need Institute, in partnership with global agencies, has introduced pond-based swimming pools in the Sundarbans — the world’s biggest delta and a region where drowning claims dozens of children every year. Young children will be taught swimming in a controlled environment in local ponds.
Two boys drowned in Karaimedu Lake, in Mayiladuthurai, on August 24.
Changing the narrative around drowning is crucial to bring it into the spotlight — just as tobacco and smoking went from being seen as glamorous to toxic, so too should drowning be brought to the forefront, from the small crime reports it is mentioned in now to a large public health crisis that has devastating consequences upon families and the country’s economy, said Ms. Ghosh.
However, despite the Union Ministry of Health’s December 2023 unveiling of the Strategic Framework for Drowning Prevention and its launch of a report on a National Strategy for Prevention of Unintentional Injury last week, experts said India has a long way to go.
(The writer was in Bangkok for the workshop at the invitation of GHAI. zubeda.h@thehindu.co.in)
Published - September 13, 2024 12:13 am IST
