Written By:
Arkoneil Ghosh, Founding Editor of Junior Champion Magazine, Regional Coordinator, and IAD4AD Administrator
Md Shafkat Hossain. Affiliations- Bournemouth University and Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB).
Drowning deaths are avoidable, yet more than 300,000 people die from drowning every year, according to the World Health Organization. Children and young people remain especially vulnerable because ponds, rivers, wells, drains and flooded roads are often located close to their homes, schools and daily routes. Drowning must therefore be recognised as a public health, child protection and disaster risk reduction issue.
Observed annually on 25 July, World Drowning Prevention Day draws attention to the urgent need for coordinated action. Its 2026 theme, “Unite to Turn the Tide,” highlights that drowning prevention is not the responsibility of one person or institution alone. Families, friends, schools, communities, researchers, health professionals, civil society organisations and governments must work together to identify risks and prevent avoidable deaths.
To mark this global campaign, the Avoidable Deaths Network advocates practical, locally adaptable and frugal approaches to drowning prevention. ADN works globally to raise awareness about avoidable deaths, promote local solutions and strengthen resilience. This blog examines measures that households and communities can adopt to protect children and young people in India and Bangladesh, particularly before and during the monsoon.
India and Bangladesh carry a significant burden of drowning deaths because seasonal rainfall, flooding, open water bodies and dependence on rivers, ponds and ferries increase exposure to danger. During the monsoon, familiar roads, fields and neighbourhood spaces can quickly become unsafe. Prevention must therefore respond to the specific risks faced by individual communities rather than rely only on broad national messages.
Research and community action in Bangladesh have already demonstrated the importance of locally informed prevention. ADN member Md Shafkat Hossain, who is part of the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB), has contributed to work examining drowning risks and community responses. ADN has also collaborated with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution through the 2023 to 2024 Drowning Data Collection Project, while Arkoneil Ghosh has supported awareness through a poster and interview collection in 2022 and Spanish-language drowning prevention sessions for Latin American audiences in 2025 and 2026. Together, these efforts show how research, data and public outreach can unite communities to turn the tide against drowning.
Practical measures include:
- Set up seasonal community crèches to supervise young children during peak agricultural and monsoon hours.
- Create community maps identifying ponds, drains, flooded roads and other drowning hotspots.
- Arrange supervised and safer routes for children travelling to school during heavy rainfall.
- Maintain community records of drowning incidents to identify recurring risks and prevention gaps.
- Train local volunteers to monitor dangerous water bodies during floods, festivals and school hours.
These measures are simple, affordable and adaptable to local conditions. Awareness is where prevention begins, but collective and practical action is where lives are saved.