Int’l organizations join hands to prevent child drowning in Viet Nam

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed by the Department of Child Affairs, under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids (Global Health Advocacy Incubator).

Accordingly, Bloomberg Philanthropies commits to providing a financial support worth US$2.1 million and technical assistance to the MOLISA to implement the Child Drowning Prevention Program for the 2023-25 period, which is based on the Child Injury Prevention Program in the 2021-30 period approved by the Prime Minister.

Deputy Director General of the Department of Child Affairs Vu Th Kim Hoa expressed her belief that Viet Nam can achieve the goal that 50 percent of children aged from 6-15 can swim, and 60 percent of children are taught water safety skills with timely support from the Bloomberg Philanthropies and Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids (Global Health Advocacy Incubator).

In the next three years, the program will provide free training for at least 200 supervisors and instructors on safe swimming and water safety skills and teach survival swimming to at least 25,760 children aged from 6-15.

At the same time, the program continues to support inter-sectoral coordination on child drowning prevention, and the capacity of ministries and organizations to apply standardized guidelines on safe swimming and safety skills.

Drowning is currently one of the top 10 causes of death for children from 5-14 years old in Viet Nam. On average, there are more than 3,500 drowning deaths each year, including nearly 2,000 children./.