The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently produced, Preventing Disease Through Healthy Environments, which includes a section on drowning.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently produced, Preventing Disease Through Healthy Environments, which includes a section on drowning.
Whilst one would not normally think of drowning being viewed as a disease, the number of deaths associated with drowning and other unintentional injury worldwide has caused the WHO to look more broadly at the problem. In fact, the WHO has stated that drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death after road accidents and in some areas of the world drowning leads all other causes of death, whether from disease or injury, for certain age groups.
Lifesaving Commissioner B. Chris Brewster provided key input to the document’s section on drowning on behalf of the ILS, continuing an increasing degree of collaboration between the ILS and the WHO. Education Committee Chair Norman Farmer recently collaborated on the development of WHO guidelines for safe recreational environments and Medical Committee Chair Dr. Steve Beerman is presently representing the ILS on a WHO/UNICEF project to develop the World Report on Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention.
The most recently issued document endeavours to answer the question, “How much disease can be prevented through healthier environments? It declares that, “An estimated 24% of the global disease burden and 23% of all deaths can be attributed to environmental factors. Not surprisingly, “Developing regions carry a disproportionately heavy burden for communicable diseases and injuries.
With particular respect to drowning, the WHO publication declares that in developed countries 54% of drowning deaths are attributable to the environment or to occupation and in developing countries 74%. According to the WHO, “Many drownings could be prevented by known interventions. These include public education and awareness programmes, improving recreational environments in the vicinity of water bodies, enforcing regulations related to water bodies (e.g. to install physical barriers, or to maintain prevention and rescue services), and enforcing regulations for occupational safety. The good news? “Drowning rates have decreased significantly in developed countries over the past decade, coinciding with a period in which interventions related to recreational environments and to education were emphasized.
The ILS Lifesaving Commissioner, Medical Committee Chair, Drowning Report Committee Chair, and members of the Drowning Report Committee will be meeting with key WHO representatives in Geneva in October. Along with furthering work on the ILS World Drowning Report, this meeting is an opportunity to develop a more formal working relationship between the ILS and the WHO.