How to prevent drowning, the leading cause of death for young children

Are you, your family members or your friends ready to take a dip in a pool, lake, river or any other body of water to cool off from the summer heat? Well, before you do that, you might want to take a deeper dive into drowning statistics.

Indeed, drowning deaths continued to be a significant—and in some cases worsening—problem around the world. For example, in the US, each year from 2020 to 2022, drowning has resulted in over 4,500 reported deaths, according to a study published in the Center for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). That’s an increase of 500 deaths per year since 2019. But the dangers of drowning seem to remain deep below the surface of public awareness—something Bloomberg Philanthropies has been seeking to change since 2012.

“The problem of drowning has not received enough attention and has not been fully recognized as a public health issue,” he explained. Kelly Larson, the injury prevention lead at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “Drowning data were limited and drowning prevention was underfunded.”

And guess what, drowning has disproportionately affected those in economically or socially disadvantaged communities both in the US and around the world. Larson emphasized that “about 90% of drowning deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.” Yes, yet another public health problem where those who are already worse off have it even worse. So, how can this situation be changed? Well, here are five ways:

1. Teach more people how to swim.

Not surprisingly, not being able to swim increases the risk of drowning. And human children are not born ready to swim. You can’t just let them take a walk in the water and expect them to be little Michael Phelps or Katie Ladeckys. Drowning has already been the leading cause of death among one- to four-year-olds in the US for some time. According to the CDC. So many children may have very close encounters with a lot of water before they learn how to swim.

However, lack of swimming ability is not just a problem for young children. National surveys have revealed that approximately 55% of US adults have never taken a swimming lesson. And where are you most likely to find an adult who can’t swim? Surprise, surprise, economically or socially disadvantaged communities.

Therefore, an emphasis of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partnership with the CDC Foundation and the CDC is to help increase basic swimming and water safety skills in the following ten states that had the highest number of drowning deaths: Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida , Georgia , Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Oklahoma and Texas. “These 10 states account for about half of the drowning deaths in the U.S.,” he explained Kelly Larson, the injury prevention lead at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “We partner with the CDC, the CDC Foundation and community organizations to provide swimming instruction to children ages 6 to 15.” Bloomberg Philanthropies has done similar work in Vietnam.

2. Supervise children more closely.

Kids will be kids. Without proper supervision, they can get into all kinds of trouble. And in this case, trouble can mean water. “Children supervised by the community supervision program have 88% less risk of drowning.” Larson pointed out. “It only takes a moment for someone to drown.” It also doesn’t take much water to drown. That’s why you should watch what children do around water, even if they can swim. A child who can already swim can still jump into water that is too rough or become injured to the point where they cannot stay afloat.

However, simply telling parents to monitor their children better will not be enough. Parents don’t have 24 hour security cameras built into their heads and have to do other things like work, eat, sleep and bury their heads in their hands. As the saying goes “It takes a village to raise a child”—which suggests that oversight should also be embedded in the surrounding community. So Bloomberg Philanthropies is working with community partners, such as childcare centers in Bangladesh, to improve child care.

3. Protect and limit access to pools and other potential swimming areas.

Again, kids will be kids. Unless you have each of them set up a 24-hour live YouTube channel, it’s almost impossible to watch them at all times. Therefore, in addition to supervision, installing barriers such as four-sided pool fencing that is properly secured can make it harder for kids to get into trouble—that is, water they shouldn’t be in yet. This was part of the project supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies in the US as well as in other countries.

4. Provide personal flotation devices and other safety equipment.

You can get by with a little help from a personal flotation device, not quite how the Beatles song goes. But it applies to everyone, especially those who cannot yet swim confidently in all kinds of water conditions. It even applies to those who already know how to swim. As Larson pointed out, “Anyone can drown.” A change in water conditions, a little exhaustion, or a little lack of attitude can bring down even those who are quite skilled swimmers. So part of the project supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies was to help stock different swimming areas with personal flotation devices and other types of safety equipment.

5. Improve data collection.

While the aforementioned approaches can clearly help, drowning still remains a murky water situation in many ways. A big problem is a four-letter word that should be the opposite of dirty: data, or the lack thereof. Trying to prevent drowning without enough data about why people drown, what the current risks are, and what interventions might work is like trying to win a football game without knowing the score or any statistics. “One goal was to enhance data collection and better understand the circumstances of drowning incidents,” Larson said. “And review state-based legislation and policies that can prevent drowning.” This included improving data collection in LMICs such as Uganda and Ghana, as well as using more data to help develop strategies to address drowning problems. Larsson added that this has already led to insights such as the discovery that in some countries fishermen – that is, those who fish as a profession – are at greater risk of drowning.

More data may also help bring the drowning problem more to the surface of public awareness. Swimming pools and other bodies of water can be important refuges especially during the heat of summer. But it’s important to understand what dangers may be lurking underneath.