WHO global drowning‑prevention initiative

The World Health Organization has launched the PROTECT Technical Package, a set of evidence‑based strategies aimed at reducing the roughly 300,000 annual drowning deaths worldwide, most of which occur in low‑ and middle‑income countries. The rollout was marked by a three‑day conference in Accra, Ghana, on 24 July 2024, where officials, development partners and researchers highlighted drowning as a public‑health and development challenge affecting child survival, education and climate resilience. The package draws on successful community interventions from Bangladesh, such as child‑care centres and barriers around water bodies, and outlines seven core actions: safer water infrastructure, enhanced rescue and resuscitation capacity, occupational water safety, regulated water transport, swimming and water‑safety education, child‑care protection, and flood‑preparedness planning. On World Drowning Prevention Day (25 July), WHO Director‑General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that most drownings are preventable and called for national implementation, noting the increased risk linked to climate change and citing the Dominican Republic’s high drowning toll as a warning. The initiative seeks to translate the guidance into concrete policies and investments to safeguard water‑rich communities globally.