UN Holidays - World Drowning Prevention Day

About 400 thousand people die annually from injuries received due to negligence while swimming in rivers, lakes and pools, during fishing, surfing and other water sports. 7% of this number are children. The highest mortality rates due to drowning are recorded in low-income countries located in Southeast Asia, Africa and the western Pacific coast. In Western Europe and the United States, socially active young women and men most often die from asphyxia due to immersion in water, which negatively affects the economy and the state of society as a whole. Adults die due to failure to comply with safety precautions, drunken swimming, decompression sickness and other reasons; children die due to the negligence of parents, coaches and educators. At one of the UN sessions, a decision was made to attract public attention to this global problem. By resolution of the General Assembly, July 25 was proclaimed World Drowning Prevention Day. For the first time, lectures, webinars and other events in honor of World Drowning Prevention Day were held at the state and local levels in 2021. Both national governments, WHO and other UN agencies are interested in preventing drownings and reducing the number of people who die in water from unintentional injuries. and public organizations. The following activities help save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people: • swimming and safety training; • flood risk management - timely warning to the population living in coastal areas; • instructions on providing first aid and resuscitation of drowning people; • compliance with the basics of life safety on boats, ferries and ships; • installation of barriers to control access to places prohibited for swimming and fishing. The purpose of the events held on July 25 is to prevent deaths from wet, dry, syncopal and mixed types of drowning. Death occurs due to the penetration of water into the lungs and bronchi in only 20% of cases. People die due to vascular spasms and cardiac arrest, muscle spasms received before or during immersion in water injuries. In all cases, asphyxia occurs, damage to the central nervous system, gastrointestinal tract, and respiratory system organs occurs, and irreversible changes in the brain are observed. Death after drowning is diagnosed within 5-10 minutes. With timely assistance, up to 90% of victims can be saved in the first minute. To do this, it is necessary to take emergency measures: remove the drowned person from the water, delivering him to the shore or ship, remove fluid from the lungs and stomach - induce vomiting by pressing on the chest. If there is no gag reflex, perform artificial respiration, followed by chest compressions. After providing the first measures to save a drowning person, he must be taken to the hospital to receive intensive care. About 3,500 thousand people die annually in the rivers, lakes and seas of Russia, of which every fifth is a minor. Most of the deaths occur at the beginning of the swimming season and are associated with violation of the rules of safe behavior on the water. Therefore, in the Russian Federation, together with other countries, it takes an active part in organizing events for World Drowning Prevention Day.