Drowning of children: Drowning the dreams of families
According to UNICEF, on average, 40 children drown in Bangladesh's ponds and rivers each day
Parvez Babul
Five children including two cousins drowned in separate incidents in Cumilla, Chattogram and Natore districts on Monday, 13 November, 2023. In Cumilla, two cousins drowned in a pond while taking bath at Nangolkot upazila in Cumilla district on Monday.
The deceased were identified as Ananda Sutradhar, 5, son of Liton Sutradhar. And Pabon Sutradhar, 5, son of Juboraj Sutradhar of Astagram East Para under the upazila. Locals said both of them went to the pond near their house to take a bath in the afternoon. As they did not return home for a long time, their family members searched for them and found them floating in the pond.
In Chattogram, two minor children drowned in separate incidents in Banshkhali upazila of Chattogram district on Monday. The deceased were identified as Rifat Mia, one and a half year old son of Ahmed Shafi of Boirag Para under Shilkup union of the upazila. And Muntasir, 3, son of Absar of Banshkhali municipality area Chattogram.
Local people said Muntasir drowned into the pond while playing near it in the morning. Getting no whereabouts of Muntasir for a long time, his family searched for him and rescued him. He was taken to Banshkhali Upazila Health Complex where the doctors declared him dead.
In another incident, Rifat was playing at the yard of his house at Newazpara of Banshkhali municipality area. Suddenly he fell into the pond and drowned. Later, he was taken to the local upazila health complex where the doctors pronounced him dead.
Dr Hirok Kumar Pal and Dr Hasan, two duty officers of the Banshkhali Upazila Health complex said the children were brought dead at the hospital within a span of an hour.
In Natore, a two-year-old child drowned in a pond near to his house at Bagatipara upazila in Natore district on Monday morning. Deceased Irfan, 2, was only son of Sajedur Rahman and Shila Khatun.
The locals informed, the deceased’s parents went to a neighbour’s house, leaving the child home alone. When they returned home, they did not find the child at home. They started searching for the child and found him floating in the water body. He was rescued and taken to Bagatipara Upazila Health Complex where the on-duty doctor declared him dead, said Nannu Khan, officer-in-charge of Bagatipara Police Station.
These are some of the news of sorrowful incidents of drowning of children of only one day in November 13, 2023. It was the news of only three districts that published in the newspapers in Cumilla, Chattagram, and Natore.
According to UNICEF, on average, 40 children drown in Bangladesh’s ponds and rivers each day. And it is one of the leading causes of death of children under the age of five in Bangladesh. Every year, 14,000 children drown in the country. Sheldon Yett, Unicef representative to Bangladesh said, “It is a tragedy that so many children lose their life in easily preventable drowning accidents. All of us have a responsibility to act as parents and as members of our communities.”
Bardan Jung Rana, World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Bangladesh gave emphasize to prevent the drowning and said, “In a world where the risk of drowning can loom over anyone, it becomes crucial for each and every one of us to take up the responsibility of water safety. Let us join hands, empower each other, and strive towards a world where every life is safeguarded from this preventable tragedy.”
Bangladesh cricket icon Shakib Al Hasan, Unicef National Ambassador gives practical advice to parents through video message on how to keep children safe from drowning. He mentioned, “If parents and communities are more aware of the risks children face near water, and teach them swimming, so many untimely deaths can be avoided each year. I ask that everyone joins me in raising awareness about this issue so that we can ensure the right to survival of every child in Bangladesh.”
The WHO “Global Report on Drowning: Preventing a Leading Killer” shows that drowning mortality rates in the region are still much higher than the global average, for both men and women and in every age group. In the South-East Asia Region, drowning has been found as the second highest cause of death for children aged 10–14 years, third for children aged 5–9 years, sixth for children aged 15–24 years, and seventh for children under 5 years.
In Bangladesh, lack of awareness and poor swimming skills place children at high risk of drowning, especially in rural areas with more open water bodies. Low-cost solutions such as simple guidelines for families and communities, safety and swimming lessons for children, and childcare facilities for preschool children can go a long way to prevent child drowning deaths, UNICEF added.
While contacted, Dr. Aminur Rahman, director, International Drowning Prevention and Research Division of CIPRB pointed out about the issue and said that Media should play important role to make awareness among all the people specially the parents, guardians of the children both in the village and urban areas to prevent drowning.
Dr. Aminur said, “We observe July 25 the World Drowning Prevention Day. The theme of this year is: “Anyone can drown, no one should.” So advocacy with the relevant stake holders, proper coordination with the ministries and public and private initiatives are the key areas need to focus soon. ”
Experts observed that drowning of children means drowning the dreams of families. And it is totally unacceptable. So the issues must be prioritized from negligence soon to save the valuable lives of thousands of children every year through the integrated holistic efforts of the government and other stakeholders including UNICEF, WHO among others. And the name of the action is today.
