Deaths due to Drowning: Bangladesh’s fatality rate 5th in Commonwealth
Bangladesh had the fifth highest fatality rate due to drowning among all 54 Commonwealth countries in 2017, finds a study.
About 37 percent of global drowning deaths occurred in these countries, where 1,10,594 people died in that year, the study revealed.
Half of the deceased were aged below 19 years, and 26 percent were under five years old, it said.
Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) released the study titled "Fatal Drowning in Commonwealth Countries" yesterday.
RLSS Commonwealth President Prince Michael of Kent, GCVO, said, "Understandably, people's attention is very much focused on the terrible worldwide effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sadly, this does not mean that other avoidable deaths are not occurring throughout the world."
He called upon the countries' governments to take steps to prevent unnecessary loss of lives through simple drowning prevention interventions.
In terms of total casualties, Bangladesh stood second with 14,029 drowning cases. The highest number of people -- 60,199 -- drowned in India in 2017.
Approximately 14 percent of the country remains underwater throughout the year, where frequent flooding turns disastrous.
The combined number of fatal drownings in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan makes up approximately 78 percent of such cases across the 54 countries, the study finds.
"Now is the time for action of the Commonwealth nations to prevent these unnecessary deaths," said Drowning Prevention Director of RLSS Dr Aminur Rahman, who led the study.
Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) is a member of RLSS and promotes water safety in Bangladesh through education, training and qualifications. It believes accidental drowning is a devastating loss of life, made harder to bear due to it being a preventable death.
CIPRB Executive Director Prof AKM Fazlur Rahman said, "We call upon government agencies and ministries to provide necessary support in implementing the preventable measures outlined in the report to reduce the loss of life to drowning."
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