New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) Over 1,44,000 people drowned in the Asia Pacific region in 2019, accounting for 61 per cent of global drowning deaths, according to the first World Health Organization regional assessments on drowning prevention.

The reports, which have been released ahead of World Drowning Prevention Day on Sunday, stated that drowning claimed the lives of an estimated 70,000 and 74,000 people in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions.

The Regional Status Report on Drowning in the Western Pacific and Regional Status Report on Drowning in South-East Asia, also warn that climate change, to which the Asia Pacific region is particularly vulnerable, puts already vulnerable communities and individuals at increased drowning risk.

More frequent and extreme weather events can lead to more regular and intense floods, increasing populations' exposure to potentially hazardous interactions with water, the reports said.

In the South-East Asia Region, most drowning deaths occur among children and men, according to the findings.

Of the 70,000 drowning deaths in the WHO South-East Asia Region in 2019, more than 33 per cent were among children aged under 15 years. On average, men were three to four times more likely to drown than women, the reports said.

However, in the Western Pacific Region, males and people aged 65 and above were found to be at greatest risk of drowning, they stated.

"Older people accounted for 34 per cent of drowning deaths in the WHO Western Pacific Region in 2019. Men are at higher risk than women– in 2019, 66 per cent of drowning deaths in the Region were among men,” according to findings.

Non-fatal drowning -- where individuals are rescued and/or resuscitated -- also results in a substantial number of hospitalizations in the two WHO regions, and can cause severe brain damage that may result in long-term disabilities such as memory problems, learning disabilities and permanent loss of basic function, the assessments found.

“Despite many lives being lost each year, drowning remains a largely unrecognised threat to health and well-being,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia.

“We need to work across all sectors to develop national water safety plans and policies and implement tested and low-cost water safety interventions to prevent drowning and save lives. No child or adult should lose their life to drowning,” she said.

The new reports provide countries with WHO-recommended best practices on drowning prevention interventions and policies, including day care for children, the use of barriers for controlling access to water, public awareness campaigns focused on behaviour change, and policies and legislation on water safety, including regulation of recreational boating and maritime transport.

"We are proud to be able to highlight, through these two reports, examples from our member states of leadership, innovation and strong partnerships within and beyond the health sector on drowning prevention,” said Dr Takeshi Kasai, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific.

Reflective of the diversity of the South East Asian Region, the impact of drowning and effective approaches to its prevention differ across and within countries, the reports said, adding that while some governments have well-developed water safety strategies and well-established national mechanisms for drowning prevention, other countries are at an early stage of developing and expanding drowning prevention interventions.

“Efforts, especially for at-risk groups such as children, include survival swim and water skills training in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand; community-based day care/creches for young children in Bangladesh, India and Thailand; and improved information systems and public awareness campaigns focused on behaviour change in Thailand,” the WHO said.

There are large disparities in drowning rates across the Western Pacific, with rates in lower-middle-income countries nearly four times higher than those in high-income countries, it said.

“For example, The Federated States of Micronesia has the highest drowning death rate at 15.1 per 100 000 population compared to Australia where the rate is 0.7 per 100 000,” the WHO said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)