UN commits to combatting drowning once and for all

Over the course of the last decade, 2.5 million people have lost their life due to drowning. Faced with this concerning reality, the United Nations have passed a resolution to help prevent drowning; an epidemic the Princess Charlène of Monaco Foundation has been fighting since 2012, by supporting swimming programmes in developing countries such as Bangladesh.

Over the past ten years, 90% of drowning deaths have occurred in low- and middle-income countries. In Bangladesh, 15,000 children lose their life to drowning every year. By passing the first ever resolution on drowning prevention, the United Nations hopes to have provided member states with a framework on how to combat this issue. As well as this, the resolution declares the 25 July as the annual U.N. Day for drowning prevention.

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Swimming lessons save lives

Since 2012, the Princess Charlène of Monaco Foundation has been working with several developing countries to provide swimming lessons for local communities. In total, the Foundation has financed around 30 projects so far. More than 35,000 children and adults in 18 countries have all benefited from the Foundation’s programmes. Amongst the projects in action are “Learn to Swim”, which teaches people how to swim, as well as “Water Safety”, focusing on drowning prevention, and “Sport & Education”, which instills important values in those who partake in sports.

Since 2013, the Princess Charlène of Monaco Foundation has been financially supporting several projects led by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI): a British NGO raising awareness in various countries about the threat of drowning and how to stay safe.