Drowning a leading cause of child death: experts
Drowning is one of the leading causes of child death in Bangladesh, said experts at an orientation session for journalists yesterday.
Therefore, the government needs to be more proactive in adopting and enforcing policies that ensure protection of children, they said.
Society for Media and Suitable Human-communication Techniques (SoMaSHTe), with support from Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), organised the session titled "Media Campaign to Prevent Child Drowning" at The Daily Star building, where 20 journalists from different media houses participated.
While giving presentation, International Drowning Research Centre-Bangladesh Director Aminur Rahman said, "The rate of drowning is higher in low-income countries like Bangladesh…and it is one of the leading causes of child death in the country."
Referencing a 2016 survey of Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB), he said, "Around 14,438 children aged 18 or under die by drowning in Bangladesh. It means on average, 40 children die by drowning every day."
"Usually, such deaths occur in ponds within 20 metres of home during 9am-1pm." said Aminur, also deputy executive director of CIPRB, adding that awareness is necessary at all levels.
Talking about government measures, he said the government can formulate a policy and arrange for swimming and first-aid training, or install day-care centres in unions, with help from NGOs and government bodies, to look after children when parents stay busy.
Citing the latest World Health Organization report on drowning, GHAI Country Lead Md Ruhul Quddus said more than three lakh people die by drowning annually worldwide, and Bangladesh has a significant rate of child drowning cases.
"SDG Goal-3 talks about ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing of all. Therefore, to ensure child-safety, focusing of preventing child drowning cases needs to be addressed," he said, adding that the government must be more proactive and work towards prevention of drowning to achieve SDGs.
While conducting the session, SoMaSHTe Director Masrur Zaman said, "The media along with other stakeholders needs to play a strong role in raising awareness about child-safety."
He said cases of children drowning are not always reported to local police stations or health complexes. Therefore, the exact number of cases is not available.
Reporters can do more stories on the subject and shed light on the current scenario, helping the government act on the issue more, he added.
SoMasSHTe Director (Programme) Shahidul Alam was also present during the session.
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