Child Drowning Deaths Drop With Swimming Lessons
Swimming lessons have played a crucial role in reducing child drowning deaths by an average of 5 to 7% annually over the past decade, according to a leading figure from an international non-profit organization. Doan Thu Huyen, country director of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, highlighted Vietnam's progress during a speech at the World Drowning Prevention conference held in Egypt on November 21. Previously, the Vietnam Ministry of Health reported more than 3,000 child drowning deaths each year before 2015. However, this number has gradually decreased to approximately 2,000 in recent years. Huyen emphasized that the consistent decline in drowning deaths is a result of effective intervention programs implemented over the last seven years. In 2018, Vietnam launched a child-drowning prevention program with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies. This initiative focused on providing swimming lessons and basic water safety training to children in several provinces, including Dong Thap...