If memory serves me right, I was barely five years old when I narrowly escaped drowning in a village pond. I had not yet learned to swim, but during one of our year-end family vacations, my ego as a city boy got the better of me.
Watching local children dive effortlessly into the water, I felt challenged and foolishly jumped in after them. Fortunately, an older cousin happened to pass by, noticed my struggle, dived into the pond, and pulled me out just in time.
That childhood brush with death has stayed with me ever since. My heart aches whenever I read reports of children losing their lives to drowning, particularly in rural Bangladesh. It is deeply painful to see parents lose their young children in a country crisscrossed by rivers, canals, ponds, and countless natural waterways.
The reality is devastating: Every day in Bangladesh, the equivalent of an entire classroom of children -- around 40 young lives -- is lost to drowning.
Nationally representative data shows that the country records around 18,000 drowning deaths each year, including 11,000 children under the age of five.
About a year and a half ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) released an updated global drowning status report, marking a decade since its landmark Global Status Report on Drowning Prevention in 2014.
At first glance, the findings appeared encouraging for Bangladesh. The report showed that over the previous two decades, the country's drowning death rate had fallen significantly -- from 17 deaths per 100,000 people to six.
When I first read that statistic in isolation, it offered a sense of relief. But that optimism quickly faded after a closer look at the report revealed that Bangladesh's drowning rate remains well above the global average.
According to the WHO, a 38% reduction in the global drowning death rate over the past two decades brought the worldwide average down to 3.8 deaths per 100,000 people in 2024. Bangladesh's rate remains considerably higher -- a public health and child safety challenge that the country can no longer afford to overlook.
Bangladesh deserves recognition for the progress it has made through innovative interventions. However, the data also makes it clear that much more remains to be done, as drowning deaths -- particularly among children -- continue to occur at an unacceptably high rate.
I vividly remember reading a poignant passage in the preface to the 2024 WHO report by Michael R Bloomberg, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries. He wrote: "Our work began in Bangladesh, where data showed that drowning was the leading cause of death among children aged 1-4. A lack of daytime supervision was putting children at risk, so we established and funded 2,500 community childcare sites. The results were extraordinary -- drowning deaths fell by 88% among daycare-enrolled children, which captured the attention of the national government."
The Bangladesh government later assumed responsibility for funding the program, expanding it to 8,000 community childcare centres that reached around 200,000 children annually across 16 districts. Unfortunately, once the project ended, most of these centres shut down because sustained funding was not available.
It is encouraging that over the past few months, the government has been working on a strategy and financing model to roll out the Integrated Community-Based Centre for Child Care, Protection, and Swim-Safe Facilities (ICBC) project on a much larger scale, covering nearly half of the country's 64 districts.
The initiative is expected to require around Tk800 crore to operate childcare centres across 30 districts. However, concerns remain that administrative delays and bureaucratic inertia could cost more lives in the meantime.
The larger question is why such vital interventions continue to be treated as time-bound projects instead of permanent public services. Drowning is the second leading cause of death among children under five in Bangladesh, after pneumonia. Globally, it is the fourth leading cause of death among children aged one to four and the third leading cause among those aged five to 14.
Why should responsibility for these programs rest solely with the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs? At a time when Bangladesh has significantly increased its health budget -- a welcome departure from years of underinvestment -- why can the government not commit sustained funding to protect children from preventable water-related deaths?
Community-based swimming lessons in both rural and urban areas, alongside well-functioning childcare centres, are investments in children's survival.
In many low-income households, both parents are forced to work, leaving toddlers and young children either unattended or under the supervision of adolescent siblings. As a result, many children drown in ponds, canals and ditches, often only a few metres from their homes.
Studies show that the overwhelming majority of child drownings occur within a short distance of the homestead between 9am and 1pm -- the very hours when rural mothers are busiest with household or agricultural work.
When the ICBC centres were fully operational, Bangladesh recorded a noticeable decline in drowning incidents in the program areas. The closure of those daycare centres has created a dangerous gap, forcing children back into inadequate supervision that reflects the economic realities facing many low-income families.
The 2024 WHO report warns that more than 7.2 million people, most of them children, could die from drowning worldwide by 2050 if current trends continue. Yet the vast majority of these deaths are preventable through proven community-based interventions.
The WHO recommends installing barriers to limit children's access to water, providing safe childcare facilities for preschool-aged children, and teaching school-aged children basic swimming, water safety, and safe rescue skills.
It also advocates training community members in resuscitation, raising public awareness, enforcing boating and shipping safety regulations, and strengthening flood risk management.
If the government considers a permanent financial commitment too costly, it should explore partnerships with local communities, charities, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and the private sector to ensure these childcare centres remain operational.
Bangladesh has yet to embrace the concept of community hubs that combine childcare, swimming instruction, sports facilities and arts and cultural activities within local neighbourhoods.
Local government institutions, elected representatives, business leaders, community organizations, and youth volunteers could all play a meaningful role in sustaining such initiatives -- provided the government establishes a clear policy framework and long-term institutional support.
As countries prepare to observe World Drowning Prevention Day this Saturday (July 25), Bangladesh needs to intensify measures to save children from drowning.
Declared by the United Nations General Assembly in April 2021, this global advocacy event highlights the tragic impact of drowning on families and communities while promoting life-saving solutions.
The global theme for World Drowning Prevention Day 2026 is "Unite to turn the tide," urging all sectors of society to work together toward the goal of reducing global drowning deaths by 35% by the year 2035.
Over 90% of drowning deaths occur in low- and middle-income nations, frequently in rivers, lakes, domestic water containers, and open wells.
To address this crisis effectively, Bangladesh must vigorously implement the following actions:
Reaz Ahmad is Editor, Dhaka Tribune.
