Geneva (dpa) – According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), around 300,000 people worldwide will be drunk in 2021. This emerges from the publication of the WHO report on drowning deaths. With around 83,000 each, most people drowned in Southeast Asia and the Pacific region, which also includes East Asia. Since 2000, the frequency of this type of death has fallen by 38 percent. The greatest disadvantage is therefore in Europe at 68 percent. In Africa, on the other hand, there is no noticeable decline.
There were a particularly large number of children among the victims
Children in particular lose their lives in the water. According to the WHO, one in four fatalities was younger than five years. 20 percent were between 5 and 14 years old. In general, drowning was one of the most common causes of death in this age group. The problem is primarily a phenomenon of the Armenian states. “Poor and marginalized people are disproportionately affected by drowning,” the report said.
Lack of prevention
One reason for this is a lack of or little effort at prevention. Only a quarter of the states whose data were analyzed for the report had prevention programs. In addition, the legal regulations are often inadequate, the WHO continues.
Only 38 percent of the countries considered had binding rules for life-saving equipment on board ships. There are also no laws in the private sector. Few states, for example, would require fencing around pools to make access difficult for small children.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:241213-930-317024/1
