Child Drowning

Drowning rate per 100,000
2.6 LEVELS OF EXPOSURE TO WATER HAZARDS ARE MUCH HIGHER IN LMICS THAN HICS
The omnipresence of water sources and consequent water hazards and the daily risk of drowning
deserve a separate note. This is a key point of difference between LMICs and HICs. It is likely the single
most important determinant of the large difference in drowning rates between the types of countries.
The surveys gathered information on proximity from the home to the nearest water body that was a
drowning hazard. On average, almost 9 out of 10 children in rural homes (77 per cent in Jiangxi, China,
86 per cent in Cambodia, and 90 per cent in Bangladesh) lived with an unprotected water hazard within
20 metres of the home. They were continuously exposed to a potential drowning hazard in their
environment while engaging in regular daily activities. This represents one of the most hazard-filled
environments a child could inhabit, and places them at high risk of drowning.
The success of drowning reduction efforts in HICs has largely been related to the elimination of a
hazardous environment through the societal tools previously noted. However, these mechanisms are
for the most part unavailable in LMICs. In order to counter the extreme levels of exposure, effective
interventions will need to rely on implementation at the level of the individual child, the child’s family
and community. This approach of targeting those immediately responsible for the safety of the child has
proven effective when used for health interventions in child survival programmes.
The challenge in drowning prevention in LMICs is highlighted by the disparity in drowning rates between
LMICs and HICs. Children in the Asian LMICs surveyed drown at much higher rates than children in Asia-
Pacific HICs such as Australia. This was common among children of all age groups and for both sexes, as
seen in Figure 22. The disparity in drowning rates is stark; when standardized to the world standard
population for comparison, the difference in rates is between 10 and 25 times higher in early and
middle childhood, depending on age group and gender. 36
Figure 22: Drowning rates among children aged 0-14, by age group and country/region
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Asia Australia Asia Australia
0-4 years
5-9 years
10-14 years
Male
Female
Source: Survey data from Viet Nam (Vietnam Multicenter Injury Survey, VMIS 2001), Bangladesh (Bangladesh Health and Injury
Survey, BHIS 2003), Thailand (TNIS 2004, Jiangxi China (Jiangxi Injury Survey, 2005) and Cambodia (Cambodia Accident and
injury Survey, CAIS 2007) and data from Australia Institute of Health and Welfare Report, Flinders University, March 2008. 37
Note: Data for children aged 15-17 are unavailable for Australia; the graphs therefore cover only children aged 10-14.
36 Ahmad O. et al. (2001). Age standardization of rates: A new WHO standard. Geneva: World Health Organization.
37 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: Kreisfeld R. and G. Henley (2008). Deaths and hospitalizations due to drowning,
Australia 1999–00 to 2003–04. Injury Research and Statistics Series Number 39.
51