MikeLigalig.com

By Barnaby Chesterman
Agence France-Presse

Key research released today at the International Life Saving Federation's World Conference on Drowning Prevention shows child drowning in Asia could be dramatically reduced by 80 per cent.

Approximately 300,000 children drown in Asia every year.

The findings come after four years of collaborative research between Royal Life Saving Society - Australia, The Alliance for Safe Children (TASC), the Centre for Injury Prevention Research Bangladesh (CIPRB) and UNICEF.

"Drowning disproportionately affects children, low income and less adaptive populations. Research and surveys continually show us that drowning has reached epidemic proportions in many Asian countries and is the leading killer of children post-infancy in many nations," said Dr Steve Beerman, President of the International Life Saving Federation (ILS).

Dr Michael Linnan, Technical Director for TASC: "Drowning kills more children than tuberculosis, more than HIV, more than malaria, and more than tetanus, whooping cough and polio combined," he said at the conference today.

Drowning deaths climb dramatically from less than 20 per 100,000 for infants to over 100 deaths per 100,000 for children aged 1-2 across Asia and remains significantly high for children into their teenage years.