Fall in drowning deaths welcomed by Swindon-based swimming charity

News of a global decline in deaths due to drowning has been welcomed by a leading water safety charity.

However, Swindon-based SwimTayka, which runs drowning prevention programmes in under-resourced communities around the world, says more must be done to bring the figures down even further.

The World Health Organization (WHO), in its first ever report on drowning prevention, revealed a significant 38 percent drop in the global drowning death rate since 2000.

Despite this, drowning remains a major public health issue, with more than 30 people estimated to drown every hour and 300,000 people dying through drowning in 2021 alone. 

Almost half of all drowning deaths occur among people under the age of 29, with a quarter among the under fives. Children without adult supervision are at an especially high risk of drowning.

English Channel swimmer Bryan Avery founded SwimTayka in 2017 when he realised just how many young lives are claimed due to drowning.

The charity runs free programmes teaching children to swim in locations such as Peru, Bali, Brazil and Uganda, where there is limited access to lessons, yet the communities live next to water.

“This significant decline in drowning deaths since 2000 is a great start, but we can go further,” said Bryan.

“Nobody should die from drowning, yet millions are still at risk. Progress is also patchy, with the vast majority of deaths taking place in lower or middle income countries.”

WHO figures show Europe experienced a 68 percent drop in the drowning death rate between 2000 and 2021, while the rate fell by just 3% in the African region.

Bryan said: “The very high incidence in Africa is one reason why we have set up our new programme in Uganda. As with all our programmes, we rely on volunteer swim instructors to help teach children to swim and to train adults as swimming teachers. 

"Like all charities, we rely on donations and fundraising to carry out our work.”

For more information about SwimTayka, people can visit https://swimtayka.org/ or email [email protected]