The Ministry of Health on Saturday said that it had embarked on a national programme to eliminate drowning.
The announcement came on the eve of World Drowning Prevention Day.
Recognizing that drowning is a risk, the Ministry of Health said it will be embarking on a national sensitization programme to identify prevention methods and actions to reduce and eliminate drowning in Guyana. Drownings are routinely reported in the rivers of the country and the ocean. Neighbourhood trenches have also claimed lives.
The Chief Medical Officer, according to the Ministry’s press release, was instructed to prepare a National Drowning Prevention Plan for Guyana. Among the drowning prevention initiatives that the MOH, in partnership with community groups and NGOs, will pursue are:
● installing barriers controlling access to water
providing safe places away from water such as crèches
for pre-school children with capable childcare
● teaching swimming, water safety and safe rescue
skills
● training bystanders in safe rescue and resuscitation
● setting and enforcing safe boating, shipping and
ferry regulations
● improving flood risk management
Drowning is cited as the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury death and accounts for 7% of all injury-related deaths in the world. The highest rate of drowning deaths occurs among children, 1 to 4 years old, followed by children 5 to 9 years old.
The press release further added that the National Commission on the Prevention and Control of Chronic Diseases will initiate a TV and Social Media Campaign to highlight the danger of drowning and raise awareness of water risks.
In particular, efforts will be made to provide teachers with information to make water safety education a part of the curriculum in Guyana.
