Children’s death by drowning still unaddressed

To address children’s death by drowning, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs in February 2022 approved a childcare development and safety project with a budget of Tk 271.82 crore, with an implementation period of January 2022 to December 2024. The project aimed to set up 8,000 childcare centres for two lakh children under five in 16 districts, initiate parenting sessions through the centres and introduce 1,600 swimming facilities for 3.6 lakh children between the ages of six and 10.
Bangladesh Shishu Academy (BSA) and the Ministry were responsible for implementing the project nationally. But BSA has not yet been able to complete preparatory works, including selecting NGOs for collaboration. Meanwhile, more than one-third of the implementation duration has passed. The project received an allocation of Tk 10 crore for this fiscal year, and Tk 1.87 crore was spent in the first quarter of 2023.
Each year, over 14,000 children in Bangladesh die due to drowning. Although largely unrecognised, drowning is the second leading cause of death for children under the age of five in the country, making it a significant public health problem. Globally, drowning claims the lives of over 230,000 people every year. Nine in ten drowning cases occur in low and middle-income countries, with children under the age of five being at the highest risk. In Bangladesh, where large areas of land remain submerged due to yearly floods, the absence of awareness and swimming skills can prove to be life-threatening. Children in rural areas who grow up near water bodies are also exposed daily to the risk of drowning.
Evidence shows that drowning is preventable through low-cost solutions. Increased awareness among families and communities, providing safety and swimming skills for children and adolescents, ensuring childcare facilities for preschool children, and national policies and investments for prevention can make a significant difference. Such projects are not sufficient to reduce drowning deaths, and local governments, especially the promising female ward members, should be engaged in supervising these community daycares.