Child Drowning

effective against ‘other diseases and conditions’. Experience gained from decades of interventions
against primary causes of childhood mortality and morbidity show that targeted interventions – either
in isolation or as part of a package of interventions – are most successful. But until drowning is
recognized as a key driver of mortality in children of all ages, particularly after infancy, it cannot be
effectively addressed.
The recent evidence that shows that drowning prevention interventions are effective and cost-effective
in resource-constrained settings makes the case for it to be counted with specificity. Looking back at the
data from the Matlab DSS, in the years 1978-1984 drowning accounted for about the same number of
deaths as measles. The child health community prioritized measles because it was recognized as a
leading killer of children. A great deal of time and money was spent to develop vaccines and
technologies to keep vaccines at correct temperature in storage and to transport them as well as to
train the necessary logisticians, trainers and vaccinators. This resulted in very high universal coverage
rates (more than 90 per cent) among children. The global health community undertook this effort
because a vaccinated child had lifelong measles immunity and protected others through providing herd
immunity, which was key to making the intervention cost-effective. As a result, in the 1980s, measles
was essentially eliminated as a significant cause of child death.
The development community is now at the same place with drowning. In the region of the world that
holds two thirds of the world’s children, we know that drowning is a leading cause of mortality. We also
know that there are cost-effective interventions against this leading killer – we know that children
placed in crèches and other early child development programmes are safe from drowning; that older
children who are taught survival swimming skills are protected and when taught safe rescue skills, they
use them to protect their peers.
There is much to be done to address the pressing needs for more evidence, expertise, recognition and
intervention; but the evidence now in front of us is more than enough to act upon. Simply put, child
drowning is a leading cause of death in children in LMICs in Asia. This region contains the majority of the
world’s children, thus making it a problem of global proportions. Now that we know drowning is as
preventable as other leading causes of child death in these countries, it is time to act.
It really is that simple.
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