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Abstract
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Drowning is a global concern, yet almost a third of the world's 236,000 drowning deaths in 2019, occurred in the Western Pacific.1 Considering the region's geography, the pervasiveness of water transport and frequency of disaster-related risk, the true scale of drowning in the Western Pacific region is likely to be even greater. Given this significant, yet preventable drowning burden, there is an urgent need to enhance the evidence around effective interventions across the region and expand their implementation and evaluation.
This year represents the tenth year since WHO released the first Global Report on Drowning, 2 which highlighted drowning as a neglected public health issue. The report outlined ten actions to prevent drowning globally, which were followed by seven key recommen- dations that were refined for the Western Pacific context (Panel 1).1 Below we discuss these Western Pacific rec- ommendations and highlight exemplars and opportu- nities within the region.
Australia, a global leader in drowning prevention, has pioneered the development of a National Water Safety Strategy, 3 via the Australian Water Safety Council. The Australian Water Safety Council, as a national designated agency, leads collaboration across the many and diverse partners which make up the water safety and drowning prevention sector. Efforts of the sector are aligned to the goals of the National Water Safety Strat- egy,3 exemplifying the first three recommendations for the Western Pacific region (Panel 1). This coordinated effort has seen Australian unintentional drowning rates decline however, significant progress must be made in many life stages, locations and activities to achieve the aspirational goal of reducing drowning by 50% by 2030. 4
Formalised, multisectoral partnerships are central to cooperative drowning prevention which underpins the third recommendation for the Western Pacific region...
Language: en |