ABW June 2018

On the average, at
least 40,000 Filipinos
of all ages annually are
involved in drowning
accidents, with
approximately a 75%
fatality rate.
The NDRRMC said that several of the drowned
victims were drinking alcohol.
Moreover, the most number of drowning incidents
happened in beaches, followed by those who
drowned swimming in rivers.
The Philippine Red Cross (PRC)
said all public swimming areas
should have designated lifeguards
who are certified and trained in
cardiopulmonary resuscitation
(CPR).
If a person appears to be
drowning, the PRC advised
against jumping into the water in an attempt to
rescue the victim.
“Tumawag muna tayo ng tulong. Humanap ng anong
bagay na ibato natin sa nalulunod na lumulutang,
kunwari ‘yung gallon ng tubig,” PRC national field
representative Ace Alvarex said.
“Huwag tayong lumapit sa kanya dahil nga ‘yun pa
ang magiging cause ng pagkalunod,” he added.
Safety experts reiterated the importance of remaining
calm and avoiding panic in such events.
On the average, at least 40,000 Filipinos of all ages
annually are involved in drowning accidents, with
approximately a 75% fatality rate. More than a third
affects children under the age of 14 years. Mortality
is highest amongst children ages 1–8 years of age.
Drowning far outranks the traditional causes of child
mortality like meningitis, septicemia, malnutrition,
tuberculosis and pneumonia, and is the 6th highest
cause of mortality in children 1-4, 3rd in children
aged 5-9 and the 2nd leading cause of mortality for
children aged 10–14.
The findings presented in this story only constitute
reported cases of fatal drowning’s in children; hence,
these figures need to be taken as the minimum
of fatal drowning’s for the Philippines. There is
also plenty of local data on the circumstances
surrounding child drowning accidents in Philippines.
So consequently, the burden of prevention of child
drowning in the country now lies squarely on the
shoulders of the local business community. These
findings will also be the subject of a subsequent
report of Safe Kids Philippines, Zambales Lifesaving
Inc., the Department of Health and the World Health
Organization.
Your business can play a very big part in reducing
these horrific figures in child drowning by becoming
a sponsor of the swim safe program. Your business
will be acknowledged as a sponsor in all promotional
materials and swim safe stories printed in this
magazine. You never know it could be your child your
sponsorship could save one day.
To find out how you can become a sponsor in this
very important program on child safety contact Roger
Bound on 0918-922-2863 or email to Zambales
Lifesaving Inc. at slszambales@gmail.com.
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