ABU DHABI, 26th July, 2023 (WAM) — The National Guard Command, most notably the Coast Guard division, urged beachgoers to adhere to safety guidelines and preventive measures to protect them against drowning.
The call comes in conjunction with the annual World Drowning Prevention Day on 25th July, which is an opportunity to highlight the impact of drowning on families and communities and offer life-saving preventive solutions.
To raise awareness, the National Guard leadership launched an information campaign across its social media platforms highlighting safety guidelines and preventive measures to prevent drowning incidents, such as checking weather conditions before heading to sea, swimming in designated areas, wearing life jackets during water activities, swimming only in the presence of lifeguards, and refraining from entering the water when a red flag is raised.
The campaign also aims to highlight the importance of communication during emergencies through the maritime emergency line, 996, or by calling the police on 999, or the ambulance emergency line for the Northern Emirates on 998.
Every year hundreds of thousands of people die from drowning worldwide, but, according to the United Nations, many incidents could have been prevented.
World Drowning Prevention Day is marked each year on 25th July to increase awareness about preventative and safety measures, as well as highlight the tragic and profound impact of drowning on families and communities.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), drowning claims the lives of at least 236,000 people each year, ranking among the 10 leading causes of death for individuals aged one to 24. The slogan of this year’s World Drowning Prevention Day is “Anyone can drown, no one should”. To mark the day, WHO continues to focus on raising awareness on drowning as a public health issue, reminding people of what everyone should do to prevent drowning.
World Drowning Prevention Day was established through a UN General Assembly resolution in April 2021, aiming to address global drowning prevention.
Drowning is a form of suffocation resulting from the mouth and nose being submerged in water, and it often occurs in isolation or situations where others are unaware or unable to assist the victim.
To combat this issue, WHO has emphasized the importance of creating safe spaces away from water for children, teaching them how to swim, and enhancing flood risk management to reduce deaths by drowning.
The UN has proposed several preventative measures, such as establishing secure locations away from water sources for pre-school children with capable childcare, including creches.
Other prevention strategies include teaching swimming and water safety, training bystanders in safe rescue techniques, installing barriers to control water access, providing instruction on safe rescue and resuscitation techniques, and implementing and enforcing regulations for safe boating, shipping, and ferry movement. Drowning has caused over 2.5 million deaths in the last decade. The overwhelming majority of these deaths (90%) happen in low- and middle-income countries. Globally, the highest drowning rates occur among children aged 1–4 years, followed by children aged 5–9 years.
The human, social and economic toll of these losses is intolerably high, and entirely preventable.
In 2023, the 76th World Health Assembly adopted its first ever resolution on drowning prevention. The resolution accepts the invitation of the United Nations General Assembly for WHO to coordinate actions within the UN system on drowning prevention and facilitate the observance of World Drowning Prevention Day on 25 July each year.
To mark this year’s World Drowning Prevention Day, WHO will continue to focus on raising awareness on drowning as a public health issue, reminding people that anyone can drown, but no one should.