The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has joined a new global campaign led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to combat preventable drowning deaths.
The Global Alliance for Drowning Prevention (GADP) was launched at an event in Geneva to mark UN World Drowning Prevention Day, to be held each year on 25 July. The founding UN members of the Alliance are: IMO, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UNICEF and WHO.
The Alliance is a network of partners who will work together to coordinate, strengthen, enhance, and expand efforts to prevent drowning deaths, aligned with WHO’s priorities.
According to the WHO, an estimated 236,000 people die from drowning each year, with 90% of these deaths happening in low- and middle-income countries.
Globally, the highest drowning rates occur amongst children between one and four years old, followed by children between five and nine years of age. Rates for drowning are highest among the most socioeconomically disadvantaged members of society.
Non-State actors joining the alliance as founding members are: the Royal Life Saving Society, Australia; RNLI, United Kingdom; the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB); the George Institute for Global Health; and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
IMO’s Olivier Lebrun highlighted IMO’s role as the global regulator for shipping and the potential for synergies within the new alliance. He also reminded that IMO has adopted international instruments to mitigate this risk. These treaties include:
- the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)
- the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW)
- the Cape Town Agreement on fishing vessel safety (not yet in force)
- the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F)
- Model Regulations on Domestic Ferry Safety
The Global Alliance for Drowning Prevention provides a good opportunity to enhance some areas where improvement can be achieved
… said Olivier Lebrun
The establishment of the WHO Global Alliance for Drowning Prevention follows the adoption of the first ever World Health Assembly (WHA) resolution on drowning.
The resolution requested WHO to establish an alliance of organizations within the UN system, along with international development partners and Non-Governmental Organizations. The Alliance will develop a Global Drowning Prevention Strategy and strengthen coordination and collaboration among partners.
