Interdisciplinary workshop on drowning prevention in children

On the afternoon of July 19, an interdisciplinary workshop took place to share the results of implementing solutions and models to prevent child drowning.

Warning about drowning in children

In her opening speech, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha - Deputy Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs informed about the current situation of child drowning prevention and control in Vietnam as well as the attention and contributions of organizations and individuals on this issue. From practical data, the Deputy Minister acknowledged the attention and positivity of 9 ministries, branches, central organizations, and local authorities in the issue of drowning prevention and control in recent times.

Leaders of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs hope that the chain of activitiesdrowning preventionThe World Day for Drowning Prevention for Children, July 25, will be an effective forum for more ideas and solutions in the coming time.

Sharing the same view, Ms. Kelly Larson - Director of Injury Prevention Program, Bloomberg Philanthropies acknowledged the results achieved in Vietnam in recent times. With many creative ways and efforts of the authorities, Vietnam deserves to be a typical model in preventing and combating child drowning for other countries to learn from.

With a coastline of 82km, many rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, streams, dams, hot weather, erratic rain and floods, Nghe An is a locality that always has a high risk of drowning children. Of the more than 900 thousand children in the whole province, over 13 thousand children are in special circumstances, nearly 126 thousand children are at risk of falling into special circumstances. This is a reality that makes the prevention and control of drowning even more difficult. On average, each year Nghe An has 45-50 children die from drowning.

Many effective solutions

Faced with that reality, in recent years, provincial leaders have issued many plans and dispatches to strengthen the implementation of programs and solutions to prevent accidents, injuries and drowning for children. On average, each year the provincial budget spends more than 4 billion VND to serve this work.

In particular, after the Provincial People's Council issued Resolution No. 09 dated July 7, 2023 on policies to support investment in swimming pools and swimming lessons for children in Nghe An province, in 2024, the provincial budget supported 9 billion VND to build and install 99 new swimming pools and swimming teaching funds for 33 schools and communes. Currently, there are about 333 swimming pools in the province (including 124 solid pools and 209 assembled pools).

Since then, localities have also actively mobilized resources to open swimming classes for children with an increasing number of volunteers and well-trained lifeguards. The rate of children aged 6 to 15 who know how to swim has doubled from 30% in 2019 to 60% in 2023; the rate of children drowning has decreased significantly...

In addition to the determination of the authorities, many organizations, groups and individuals have joined hands to prevent and combat drowning in children through many specific activities. In particular, the project to prevent and combat drowning in children in Nghe An province by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Children has made many effective contributions.

With a total budget of over 6.4 billion VND, the project has supported safe, free swimming lessons for over 4,000 children, teaching water safety skills to 5,400 children from 6 to 15 years old, in 16 communes in 4 districts of Dien Chau, Anh Son, Quynh Luu, Anh Son. This meaningful support has improved the living environment, greatly affecting the change in awareness of children, parents and the whole society.

Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Bui Dinh Long expressed his joy and gratitude to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Bloomberg Charitable Foundation, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Children and other agencies, departments and branches for their many activities to help Nghe An province in the work of preventing and combating child drowning in recent times.

To continue effectively implementing the work of preventing and combating drowning for children in the coming time, he hopes that Nghe An will continue to receive attention and financial and technical support from central ministries, departments, branches, Bloomberg Charitable Foundation, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Children, international organizations and charitable groups and individuals inside and outside the province.

Expecting success and effectiveness of the series of activities responding to World AIDS Daychild drowningOn July 25, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also hoped that delegates would have interesting experiences about the culture, people and landscapes of Nghe An during the event.

At the event, the workshop listened to representatives of central ministries, departments and branches discuss the role, methods and specific activities in preventing and combating child drowning in recent years.

The series of activities in response to World Day for Child Drowning Prevention, July 25, this year takes place on July 19 and 20, with 3 main contents. On July 20, there will be 2 activities: Family Festival in response to World Day for Child Drowning Prevention, July 25, and visiting the model of the Safe Swimming Program for children.