The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first-ever global status report on drowning risks and prevention as its looks to advance strategies and actions to reduce drowning around the world.

Click here to access the full report: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240103962

The report, which was published in December 2024 and included inputs from 139 Member States and Territories globally, shows that the rate of deaths from drowning dropped by 38% between 2000 and 2021. However, despite significant advancements in search-and-rescue capabilities and technologies, drowning still remains a major public health issue, with more than 300,000 fatalities recorded in 2021 alone.

In addition, the report highlighted that drowning predominately impacts children and young people, with more than nine in 10 deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries, highlighting that vulnerable communities are most at risk.

The WHO report presents a benchmark against which to track drowning prevention progress over time – at global, regional and national levels - and to galvanise meaningful multisectoral collaboration within governments, organisations, societies and across the United Nations.

“The IMRF continues to advocate for greater collaboration and information sharing within the maritime SAR community as a means of improving the capacity and capabilities of SAR organisations around the world. This report from the WHO is a reminder that, despite great steps over the last few years, there is still work to be done to help minimise the risk of drowning around the world,” said Caroline Jupe, CEO of the IMRF.

We recently interviewed Caroline Lukaszyk, Technical Officer for Unintentional Injury Prevention at WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, about the growing importance of drowning prevention at the organization, as well as the need for SAR organisations to raise awareness of drowning prevention methods within local communities. Click here to read her exclusive IMRF blog: https://www.international-maritime-rescue.org/news/blog-caroline-lukaszyk-technical-officer-for-unintentional-injury-prevention-who