July 2023
Tuesday, July 25th is World Drowning Prevention Day
World Drowning Prevention Day, declared in April 2021 by General Assembly resolution A/RES/75/273, is held annually on July 25. This global advocacy event serves as an opportunity to highlight the tragic and profound impact of drowning on families and communities and to offer life-saving solutions to prevent it.
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Drowning is a major problem globally, in the United States and in the State of California. Approximately 400 drowning deaths occur each year in California, in addition to non-fatal events resulting in another 400 hospitalizations and over 1,000 emergency department visits per year. Each submersion event affects multiple lives: the person who drowns, family members, rescuers, and the community at large. Moreover, both fatal and non-fatal drowning events are associated with complex emotional, economic and societal costs that justify robust prevention and risk reduction efforts.
Many organizations including governmental bodies, private industry and non-profit groups are involved in water safety and drowning prevention in the State of California. These actors focus on a variety of water safety and drowning prevention topics and many have a track record for collaboration, but do not work together in any official capacity. In other states and countries, diverse arrays of water safety stakeholders collaborate in multi-sectoral organized coalitions or alliances to improve the efficacy and impact of their work.
Join us in continuing this important work and choose a level below that you can contribute at.
What are you doing to promote water safety?
We want to showcase your great work! Who should be featured in the next CWSC Water Safety Partner Spotlight? Nominate yourself or someone you know!
It’s the Law! Graphics that East Bay Regional Park developed to remind guardians about water safety.
The graphics below are being used by East Bay Regional Park District in an effort to remind parents, guardians, and the public about utilizing safety equipment when enjoying outdoor activities. These graphics could ultimately be used by Safe Kids sites, Childhood Injury Prevention Networks, Community Based Organizations, Free Clinics, WIC sites, Child Abuse Prevention Councils, ER’s, County clinics, Child car seat staging areas, and basically any areas that have parents, extended family, and children receiving resources, childcare and information.
The graphic can me modified to incorporate an agency’s logo and contact information.
Racism & Drowning: How the System Fails Black Youth & 3 Ways to Improve
Black teenagers drown at rates that far outpace other groups. Why is this happening, and what can be done to prevent it? Pediatrician Andrew Kiragu looks at the reasons behind these disparities in drowning rates and real-world solutions that can save lives.
California Drowning Study Published
California’s overall fatal drowning rate was similar to the rest of the USA but differed among subpopulations. These divergences from national data, along with regional differences in drowning population and context-related characteristics, underscore the need for state and regional level analyses to inform drowning prevention policy, programs and research.