Member states of the World Health Assembly (WHA) agreed to establish an alliance to prevent drowning worldwide during the 76th meeting of the WHA May 29, 2023.
Key points
- This is the first alliance to address global public health concerns on the issue until 2029.
- The 194 members of the WHA agreed to set up a Global Alliance for Drowning Prevention and prepare a global status report to assess the impact of drowning worldwide.
- The status report will inform policymakers of critical information to guide them. A resolution sponsored by the Governments of Bangladesh and Ireland invited the World Health Organization (WHO) to coordinate action on drowning prevention within the United Nations system and among relevant UN entities, according to a press note.
- The resolution asked member states to study national drowning scenarios within each country and implement policies and programmes to reduce risks.
