In Bangladesh, the most dominant cause of death for children under the age of five is drowning and it constitutes 43% of all the causes of deaths for the age group.
80% of these children drown in ditches, ponds and other water bodies within 20 meters of their residences.
This information was revealed at a national consultancy program in the capital on Wednesday.
The program, "Role of Media in Preventing Child Drowning in Bangladesh," was organized by SoMaSHTe-Society for Media and Suitable Human-communication Techniques and supported by Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI).
Planning Minister MA Mannan was present at the program as chief guest.
Data revealed at the program suggest that a lack of proper supervision by parents causes 70% of all deaths by drowning in the age group.
The majority of these incidents of drowning take place between 9am and 1pm, at a time when parents are at work.
A total of 2,155 drowning deaths were reported in the past two years. 260 children under the age of five drowned to death in 2020, while the number was 597 in 2021. Of them, 398 were above 18 years-old.
Experts at the program said that drowning was largely preventable through an installation of barriers, control of access to water bodies, provision of safe places away from water for pre-school children and ensuring proper childcare.
Measures such as providing swimming lessons, water safety and safe rescue skills could also come in handy in this regard. Training on safe rescue and resuscitation, and strengthening public awareness were some other solutions, they said.
Sarwar Alam, Communication Manager of GHAI, said that one classroom was becoming empty every day due to children drowning.
"We commonly say that people drown because they don't know how to swim. Children under the age of four are not old enough to learn swimming. Why are they drowning to death?" he questioned, adding that there was a risk of pneumonia if swimming was taught to children under the age of six.
Rasheda K Chowdhury, Executive Director of Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), emphasized the establishment of daycare centers.
“In rural areas, our women do not get any helping hand to do household chores. They need to do everything by themselves. Therefore, the government should focus on introducing facilities such as daycare centers at a minimum cost in rural areas to prevent deaths caused by drowning,” she said.
Creating awareness among people through community radio could play an important role in reducing deaths of children in drowning, she added.
Planning Minister MA Mannan highlighted the necessity for collaboration among different ministries in reducing incidents of children dying by drowning.