Lagos, July 25, 2025 (NAN) American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) says strategic leadership, community involvement, and professional advocacy are critical to save thousands of lives, especially children and youths from drowning.
Kamil Abiodun, ASSP Regional Vice President, Region IX, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in commemoration of World Drowning Prevention Day.
World Drowning Prevention Day, marked annually on July 25, serves as an opportunity to highlight the tragic and profound impact of drowning on families and communities, and to offer life-saving solutions to prevent it.
The day was declared in 2021 by a United Nations General Assembly resolution which invited the World Health Organisation (WHO) to coordinate actions on drowning prevention within the UN system.
This year, it is marked with the theme: ‘Your story can save a life – Drowning prevention through shared experiences’.
According to WHO, drowning has claimed over three million lives in the past decade, and is among the ten leading causes of death for children aged five to 14 years.
The health agency says more than 90 per cent of drowning deaths occur in rivers, lakes, wells, domestic water storage vessels and swimming pools in low- and middle-income countries, with children and adolescents in rural areas disproportionately affected.
Abiodun emphasised that drowning is preventable, lamenting that the mortality numbers “are not just statistics; they are lives that could have been saved through proactive safety measures, education, and advocacy.
“Now is the time for action, investment, and accountability.”
Abiodun acknowledged the role of safety professionals in leading change, from championing community water safety programmes, conducting risk assessments in aquatic environments, to supporting national drowning prevention strategies.
He urged health and safety professionals to use their expertise to advocate water safety at all levels and incorporate drowning risk into safety planning.
Abiodun also called for improved sensitisation of communities, workers, and families about drowning preventive actions and collaboration with local and global stakeholders to advance effective drowning prevention policies.
“Today, and every day, let’s reaffirm our professional duty to lead with purpose, act with urgency, and help build a safer world—on land and in water,” Abiodun said.
WHO says the Africa Region has the highest drowning death rate with most deaths happening during daily activities like bathing, fishing, or boat travel.
It, however, said that fewer than 10 African countries have a prevention plan.
“Drowning is often silent, abrupt, and devastating. Every year, drowning claims thousands of lives in Africa, many of them children.
“For many, water is a way of life and a daily risk. Make water safer in Africa.
“Anyone can drown, no one should! Let’s act, invest and save lives,” WHO urges.
While specific, comprehensive, and consistently tracked drowning statistics for Nigeria over the last five years are difficult to pinpoint, available data suggest a significant number of drowning incidents occur annually.
World Life Expectancy indicates that drownings in Nigeria accounted for 6,584 deaths in 2020, representing 0.44 per cent of total deaths.
Additionally, a study analysing newspaper reports and other sources between 2002 and 2022 identified 5,692 unique cases of fatal drowning.
These numbers highlight the severity of the issue in Nigeria, with calls for the establishment of a centralised, standardised database to track drowning incidents to enhance prevention and policy formulation. (NAN)
