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: