Thursday, October 1, 2026
The sixth annual National Drowning Prevention Day was observed on July 25, raising awareness of the importance of water safety and highlighting the effects of drowning globally.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), drowning claims over 300,000 lives each year, with almost 25% of those deaths being children that are under the age of five. Additionally, drowning is among the top ten leading causes of death for children aged 5-14 around the world.
Over 90% of drowning happens in rivers, lakes, wells, domestic water storage vessels, and swimming pools in low/middle income countries. Children and adolescents that live in rural areas are also found to be disproportionately affected.
The global advocacy event was originally declared on July 25, 2021, by the Nations General Assembly after recognizing drowning as a global priority. The event has the goal of reducing drowning to 35% by 2035 through the Global Strategy for Drowning Prevention which calls on all sectors and levels of society to bring awareness. Since 2021, the annual event carries a theme. This year’s theme was ‘Unite to Turn the Tide.”
The WHO encourages people to take action by sharing online how to prevent drowning in their communities and to use the Turn the Tide ToolKit, which can be used by social media users to support the campaign on their respective platforms. The WHO have additionally released other resources to encourage water safety such as the “Seven strategies to prevent drowning: technical package for policy-makers,” the “Global status report on drowning prevention 2024,” and “Hidden depths: the global investment case for drowning prevention.”
The National Drowning Prevention Day (NPDA) has also released multiple resources in preparation for the annual observation which highlights the need for the world to work together to prevent drowning deaths. These include pool safety tips along with a seminar, a monthly drowning analysis, and the Take Back the Water Challenge, which is a free mobile experience that helps children and families understand the importance of having a designated adult Water watcher to improve safety.
Nat Etrog, who has been vice chairmen of the Nassau County Water Rescue Association for over 25 years, wrote in a statement that lifeguards should talk to swimmers about having heightened sense of water safety, situational awareness and to adhere to the five layers of protection as permitted by the NPDA.
These five layers include always swimming near a lifeguard, identifying Water Watchers, having general swim competency, learning CPR, and always wearing a Personal Flotation Device (PFD) while being on a boat.
“We, celebrate this important day in part by asking our Village Lifeguards to have discussions with residents,” he wrote. “Regarding several components of water safety situational awareness and their role in drowning prevention here in the Village and wherever there are bodies of water.”
Additionally, the Village of Atlantic Beach will be hosting its 13th annual Water Safety and Rescue Training for EMS agencies, EMT’s, EMT-CC, fire departments, paramedics and rescue squads on Aug. 30.
The training will include how to handle EMS patients during a water-related emergency, self-rescue in water procedures and rescue operations for both those apart of EMS and the fire department. The hands-on experience will be hosted at Atlantic Beach Rescue Headquarters at 1 Rescue Road.
