Drowning rates are falling –
but not fast enough

Drowning has claimed over 3 million lives in the past decade – mostly children and youth – demanding urgent action now.

This World #DrowningPrevention Day, we’re sharing powerful stories about changemakers from around the world who are helping to save lives and prevent lifelong disabilities caused by drowning.

From teaching communities about water safety to developing national drowning prevention plans, their combined efforts have helped to keep people safe around water.

What can we do to save more lives?

The WHO Global status report on drowning prevention 2024 identifies a number of ways that governments, communities and individuals can help prevent drowning.

The first-ever Global status report on drowning prevention details the scale of global drowning fatalities, and progress made in advancing strategies and actions to reduce drowning around the world.

The report shows that the rate of deaths from drowning dropped by 38% between the year 2000 and 2021. Yet drowning remains a major public health issue, with more than 300 000 fatalities in 2021.

Drowning predominately impacts children an young people and more than nine in ten deaths occur in low and middle-income countries.

The report presents a benchmark against which to track drowning prevention progress over time – at global, regional and national levels – and to galvanize meaningful multisectoral collaboration within governments, organizations, societies and across the United Nations.