July 25, 2025
Drowning remains one of the world’s deadliest but most preventable public health threats, claiming more than 300,000 lives annually. As part of the global response to this silent epidemic, Uganda and Vietnam, two countries with high drowning burdens, marked World Drowning Prevention Day (WDPD) 2025 with strategic campaigns that combined evidence, storytelling and policy momentum. Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI)-supported partners spotlight multi-sector action and storytelling to drive safer water policies.
Through technical support from the GHAI and funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, both countries demonstrated how communications and political will can translate data into meaningful reform.
Vietnam: Strengthening Policy Commitment and Institutional Change for Survival Swimming
In Vietnam, GHAI partnered with the Ministry of Health and Provincial Departments of Health to launch comprehensive communication campaigns and child-centered outreach initiatives aligned with WHO's "Share a Story, Save a Life" theme. Key efforts included:
- Empowering Media: The Vietnam Association of Children's Rights launched a Journalists for Children's Rights Club, equipping reporters with tools to amplify drowning prevention stories and strengthen policy commitment at national and local levels.
- Engaging Young Voices: A nationwide art and video competition, developed in collaboration with Children's Magazine, generated over 800 entries and encouraged children to share their own drowning prevention stories, making them active participants in the safety conversation.
- Showcasing Success Models: A flagship ceremony partnered with Quang Tri Department of Health highlighted the province's achievements, where more than 6,000 students have received survival swimming training since 2019. The event featured water safety competitions, rescue demonstrations, and inter-provincial commitments to scale successful prevention models.
Vietnam's progress demonstrates how institutional commitment, combined with grassroots community engagement, can establish new standards for child drowning prevention nationwide.
Uganda: Spotlighting National Commitment Through Partner-Led Action
In Uganda, where drowning claims an estimated 3,000 lives each year, the Ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT), the country’s lead agency on drowning prevention, convened a week-long series of engagements culminating in a high-level WDPD commemoration at Speke Resort Munyonyo.
Key highlights included:
- Launch of the Global Best Practices Report on Water Safety, offering a knowledge base to inform Uganda’s National Strategy on Drowning Prevention and new Maritime Safety Regulations.
- Multi-stakeholder engagement through press conferences, community dialogues, and city-wide pop-up campaigns by civils society partners, including Reach A Hand Uganda (RAHU), Justice and Development Council (JDC), Safe Transport and Survivors Support Uganda (STASSU) and Design without Borders Africa.
- A compelling digital discussion on X will spotlight stories from frontline actors and survivors on July 29, reinforcing this year’s WDPD theme: “Telling Stories About Drowning Prevention.”
GHAI provided strategic communications and media advocacy support, including capacity strengthening for local partners and coordination of digital and press activities to maximize national reach. These efforts aim to ensure the policy momentum translates into community-level change and sustainable systems for water safety.
A Shared Model for Policy-Driven Drowning Prevention
Across both countries, GHAI’s evidence-based, locally driven and communication-focused approach has helped elevate drowning prevention from an overlooked issue to one with increasing visibility and policy priority.
On WDPD 2025, Uganda and Vietnam are sending a powerful message: drowning is preventable, and every policy shift, media story and training session is a step toward protection.
Anyone can drown, but nobody should.
