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Child mortality by drowning up


Published : 15 Sep 2020 09:42 PM | Updated : 16 Sep 2020 10:15 AM

Drowning accidents are on the rise throughout the county. Many children met the tragic end of their lives due to drowning every year especially during the monsoon.

According to a study ofnon-government organization Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) estimation, about 19,000 children drown every year.

Which illustrates, nearly 53 children including adolescents drown every day in the country. This number has increased due to the recent time deluges. The death toll from the latest flood has raised to 233 in 33 districts across the country.

Development worker Mostafijul Alam indicated that, Most of the children do not knowhow to swim. Earlier, UNICEF in Bangladesh has launched a project to teach children and adolescents how to swim in flood-prone areas, but unfortunately the project has been stalled for several years.

“Many children in rural and urban area do not know how to swim. Parents also keep them away from water-body and don’t teach them how to swim. This is one of the prime reasons behind drowning,” he said.

He also suggested that, children must be taught swimming at early age so that they do not get drowned.

Public health professor Dr Ahmed Hussain told Bangladesh Post, “Our country has remarkably overcome child mortality rate but the drowning emerged as a new quandary.”

There is no initiative in this regard at the public-private level. It is very important for children and teenagers to know how to swim in flood prone areas, he added. Swimmer Rajendra Chandra Deb regarding children drowning said, “We need massive awareness campaign at the district, thana and union level to prevent children drowning.”

Many people do not realise that teaching children how to swim is an important task. Drowning is definitely a preventable in addition measures must be taken so that children do not lose their life this way anymore, he added.