A study conducted by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) showed that 1,360 people lost their lives by drowning between 2019 and 2021.
According to the research, drowning was one of the main causes of unintentional child deaths worldwide, with a greater rate in low- and middle-income nations like Ghana.
The study also revealed that rivers accounted for 28.5 per cent of these fatal drowning incidents, while the ocean accounted for 16.5 per cent.
“Young adults aged 20 to 34 years had the highest fatal drowning rates (4.3 fatalities per 100,000 population annually), followed by young children aged 0 to 4 (4.2 deaths per 100,000 population annually)”.
To address the situation, the Global Health Advocacy Incubator and Bloomberg Philanthropies and some non-government organisations are supporting a new emerging leader in drowning prevention through awareness creation.
This cohort of young leaders joined national and international efforts to raise awareness and strengthen solutions and political commitment toward drowning.
Mrs. Bertha Kusimi, the Emerging Leader 2024 Ghana participant, said the Emerging Leaders programme, aimed at providing a unique opportunity for the Ghanaian participating leaders to become steeped in drowning prevention issues and to develop leadership skills in drowning prevention, and to make them part of a global community working to reduce drowning deaths.
“Based on the data by KNUST, an educational campaign for mothers and primary caregivers of children under five years was conducted in Faana-Tsokome, in the Ga South Municipality,” she said.
Mrs. Kusimi said the programme ended with a two-day workshop to create awareness for mothers and primary care givers since they played an essential role in safeguarding children near water.
The main objective of the campaign was to assess the awareness levels of mothers and primary caregivers of children under the age of five years regarding their Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) in preventing child drowning.
She noted that the traumatizing incident that occurred to nine school children in the fishing community of Faana in 2023 still lingers in the minds of Ghanaians.
Mrs. Kusimi said: “The underlying risk factors of drowning such as inadequate or non-existent child supervision alcohol usage, not knowing how to swim, having superstitious beliefs, using life jackets sparingly or not at all, and neglecting water safety laws were discussed with the participants.”
During the programme, videos on drowning prevention were shown to participants. There was also experienced sharing of participants who had lost family members to drowning.
Educational materials, including booklets and posters that highlighted water safety advice and drowning hazards were also shown during the interaction with the mothers.
The multi-sectoral aspect of drowning prevention is highlighted by the active participation of stakeholders, opinion leaders, the Assembly, and nongovernmental groups, demonstrating shared responsibility for everyone.
At the end of the campaign, it was recommended that programmes should be continuous and expanded to include larger participants, especially mothers and children, to empower them in the community drowning prevention.
GNA