Actions for technical partners

Drowning doesn’t have a single cause, or a single solution. But it can be prevented.

In recognition of this, for World Drowning Prevention Day in 2022, the World Health Organization called on stakeholders to “Do one thing” to improve the safety of people in and around water. Guidance was offered on what individuals, groups, and governments could do – and the global response was tremendous.

Some governments started the process of developing national strategies for drowning prevention. Groups hosted public awareness events and launched water safety campaigns. Countless individuals took action by learning and sharing new skills (swimming, safe rescue and resuscitation), or providing support to a drowning prevention group or activity.

One problem, many solutions.

Building on this momentum, WHO now asks countries and partners to respond to our call to action for global drowning prevention:

What do we mean by this?

If you are not yet involved in drowning prevention then “Do one thing”. There’s so much that can be done, whether you are an individual, a group (organization or community) or a government.

If you’ve already started to work in your area on drowning prevention, then “Improve one thing”. There’s always an opportunity to engage a broader range of partners, identify parts of your efforts that are not working as well as they should, or connect with a high-risk group for drowning that your efforts haven’t reached yet.

And if you are deeply engaged with drowning prevention and have a mature programme or a portfolio of programmes, then “Add one thing”. Look for ways of adding to your portfolio of action, tackle a new part of the drowning context in your setting, or broaden your efforts to reduce drowning in other settings. There’s always more that can be done.