Drowning remains one of the leading causes of death among children worldwide, with the heaviest burden falling on low- and middle-income countries. Việt Nam has become a standout example of what sustained, government-led, multisectoral action can achieve — offering lessons for other countries in the region and beyond.
In March 2026, Việt Nam marked a defining milestone, transitioning its child drowning prevention programme from a donor-supported pilot into a fully nationally owned initiative. Over eight years, the partnership between the Government of Việt Nam, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) helped more than 75,000 children learn survival swimming skills and reduced drowning mortality by 16% in the areas where it operated — results that position Việt Nam as a reference point for countries building sustainable drowning prevention systems.
Carrying that momentum forward, the Ministry of Health chaired an interministerial workshop in Đà Nẵng on July 10, bringing together the education, culture and sports, public security and disaster management sectors, along with researchers and local health authorities, to prepare for a new phase of interministerial collaboration through 2030.
Vice Minister of Health Nguyễn Tri Thức said the Ministry would continue as the focal coordinating agency, working with ministries, localities and international organizations to strengthen policy guidance, advance research, mobilize resources and scale up effective drowning prevention models nationwide.
Đoàn Thị Thu Huyền, Country Director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in Việt Nam, noted that extreme weather could heighten drowning risks, particularly in rural, disaster-prone areas. She recommended integrating drowning prevention into local development and child protection plans; standardizing safe-swimming training content and instructor qualifications; investing in remote-area facilities; sustaining local implementation teams; monitoring post-training outcomes; and strengthening coordination among government, health, families, communities and the private sector.
Đà Nẵng, one of the cities that has invested state budget and mobilized resources for survival swimming, hosted a workshop visit to a primary school with a portable pool funded by the Disaster Management Fund, following safe-swimming guidance jointly developed by the Ministries of Health and Education and Training, with GHAI support.
That same practical, government-driven spirit shows in one of the programme's recent outputs: ready-to-use safety materials, including standardized danger warning signs for open water and pool safety rules signage, freely available for provinces and pool operators to print and install — a simple, scalable tool letting even under-resourced communities apply a consistent safety standard at the water's edge.
Anyone can drown, but nobody should. Việt Nam's experience shows what's possible when ministries, communities, and international partners work as one — pointing the way for the region's next chapter in protecting children from drowning.
In March 2026, Việt Nam marked a defining milestone, transitioning its child drowning prevention programme from a donor-supported pilot into a fully nationally owned initiative. Over eight years, the partnership between the Government of Việt Nam, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) helped more than 75,000 children learn survival swimming skills and reduced drowning mortality by 16% in the areas where it operated — results that position Việt Nam as a reference point for countries building sustainable drowning prevention systems.
