Across the African continent, drowning is all too common. Open water is intrinsic part of daily life for washing, drinking, cooking and cleaning. When a child has to collect water from the river for their family, they don’t always make it back.
In the recent Global Report on Drowning from the World Health Organisation estimated at least 372,000 people die from drowning each year.
Approximately one person dying from drowning every minute.
More than 90% of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. This death toll is well over half that of malaria – but unlike Malaria, there are no broad prevention efforts that target drowning. The report goes on to state that drowning is among the 10 leading causes of death of children and young people in every region of the world, with children aged under 5 years disproportionately at risk and males twice as likely to drown as females.
With your help, we can deliver training along the river Nile to communities at risk. This training will enable them to keep themselves safer around the water.