Drowning IncidentIt’s hard to imagine the panic trying to breathe but choking on water instead. The body fights to survive as oxygen disappears and the heart begins to fail.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 30 people die by drowning every hour, making it one of the world’s most silent and under-recognised public health emergencies.
Today, July 25, marks World Drowning Prevention Day, a global observance established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2021 to raise awareness about the devastating impact of drowning and to call for action to prevent it.
The day was declared by the United Nations in to encourage countries, communities and individuals to take real action like teaching swimming, fencing off dangerous water points and training people in rescue and CPR.
"It’s also a time to share stories of survivors and everyday heroes who’ve helped prevent drowning," UN stated.
"The day is a chance to remind the world that drowning is preventable and that even low-cost community efforts can save lives."
In Kenya, where flash floods, open quarries and unsupervised rivers are common risks, the day is especially relevant. It helps shine a light on how better planning, awareness and local solutions can stop needless deaths especially of children. So, the day is celebrated not with fanfare, but with purpose to protect life.
This year’s theme, “Your story can save a life, drowning prevention through shared experiences,” highlights how community voices and lived experiences can drive change and save lives.
Drowning kills over 300,000 people each year worldwide, according to WHO’s 2021 data. Nearly half of these deaths occur among people under the age of 29 and a quarter involve children under five years old.
Many of these tragedies happen silently, often in moments when no one is watching: a toddler wandering off near an unfenced pond, a young fisher caught in a sudden storm or even a teenager unable to swim across a river.
In Kenya, drowning remains a persistent and deadly threat especially among children, fishers and residents of flood-prone areas. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA), at least 1,200 people die from drowning in Kenya every year.
In 2022 alone, the Kenya Red Cross recorded over 300 child drowning deaths, primarily in Homa Bay, Kisumu and parts of Nairobi’s informal settlements.
Children are often unsupervised near rivers, dams, or drainage canals.
The situation is compounded around Lake Victoria, where overloaded and poorly maintained boats are used daily by fishers and local commuters.
Nearly 60 per cent of water transport deaths in Kenya involve the absence of life jackets and unsafe vessels, according to KMA.
During rainy seasons, flash floods in informal settlements like Mathare and Kibera regularly claim lives, often sweeping away children and adults alike.
The lack of fencing around quarries, dams and rivers further contributes to accidental drownings.
In 2024 and 2025, floods killed between 169–228 Kenyans most of whom were unable to swim.
Efforts to address drowning in Kenya are slowly taking root.
KMA has intensified safety enforcement on water transport, requiring boat operators to use life jackets and meet inspection standards. In Kisumu County, water safety clubs have been introduced in schools with support from UNICEF, training children on swimming and rescue skills.
“Swimming should be treated as a survival skill, not a sport reserved for the privileged,” Joyce Kariuki said, a Nairobi-based child rights advocate.
In coastal counties, the Kenya Lifesaving Federation has partnered with local organisations to teach community members CPR and safe rescue techniques, although the reach remains limited.
WHO recommends that countries invest in low-cost, community-driven interventions.
These include placing barriers around water bodies, offering safe spaces for preschoolers away from open water, teaching school-age children basic swimming and rescue skills and strengthening public awareness campaigns.
There is also a strong case for integrating these lessons into the national school curriculum, especially in regions where drowning deaths are most common.
In emergency situations, the right response can mean the difference between life and death. If someone is pulled out of water unconscious, WHO recommend the C-A-B method of CPR: Compressions, Airway and Breathing.
Start chest compressions at a rate of 100–120 per minute and allow the chest to rise fully between pushes. If trained, give two rescue breaths after every 30 compressions. Continue until help arrives or the person starts breathing again.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom said while there has been a decline in drowning deaths globally, the risk remains dangerously high in low- and middle-income countries.
“Still, every drowning death is one death too many and millions of people remain at risk,” Tedros said.
WHO noted that only 33 per cent of countries offer national programmes to train bystanders in safe rescue and resuscitation and just 22 per cent include water safety and swimming lessons in school curricula. Drowning continues to claim lives not because the solutions are unknown, but because they are under-prioritised.
World Drowning Prevention Day is not just a date on the calendar. It is a global call to action to prevent the preventable, to protect the vulnerable and to save lives.
“Let us not just remember the statistics. Remember the stories. Share them. Learn from them. Let them move you to action,” WHO urged.
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