Preventing drowning: BFSCD’s diver units

BANGLADESH GOVERNMENT CAN DO MORE TO PREVENT DROWNING WHICH IS PRESENTLY THE LEADING CAUSE OF CHILD MORTALITY IN THIS COUNTRY

It is a welcome initiative that the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence (BFSCD) is going to set up a diver unit in every district to prevent the drowning of children aged under five years. But the approval of only 24 posts of divers by the Finance Division against the BFSCD-proposed 384 posts would not be enough since fatal drowning incidents are so common all across Bangladesh. According to the statistics of the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB), an average 47 people—34 among them are children—lose their life  daily by accidental drowning.

Bangladesh government can do more to prevent drowning which is presently the leading cause of child mortality in this country. A carefully-made anti-drowning plan would have helped the country to address this serious problem in a comprehensive and effective way.

A diver can indeed help people during and after a disaster if he is available. But the diver will be at present at the urban area. But most drowning incidents take place in the rural areas and in the majority of cases help arrives only when the victim is already dead. So divers of BFSCD must focus on preventing a drowning incident in the first place. If the diver’s unit’s primary task is to impart swimming lessons to children, this would be a great help.    

In fact, BFSCD can take up a swimming training programme for people willing to learn swimming as an integral part of their work on a permanent basis. BFSCD can pick willing students from schools and provide swimming training in designated pools or ponds as they are available in a locality. This can be worked out even by making use of the existing fire fighting personnel in addition to the creation of the diver’s unit.          

Funds for extra work for training on swimming can be made available. Evidence shows that a range of interventions is effective in the prevention of drowning.  This includes the provision of safe places such as day care centres for pre-school children, and teaching school-age children basic swimming skills, among others.

The multi-sectoral nature of drowning prevention demands improved coordination among government, non-government, and international development partners.

 

 

Preventing drowning: BFSCDs diver units

BANGLADESH GOVERNMENT CAN DO MORE TO PREVENT DROWNING WHICH IS PRESENTLY THE LEADING CAUSE OF CHILD MORTALITY IN THIS COUNTRY

It is a welcome initiative that the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence (BFSCD) is going to set up a diver unit in every district to prevent the drowning of children aged under five years. But the approval of only 24 posts of divers by the Finance Division against the BFSCD-proposed 384 posts would not be enough since fatal drowning incidents are so common all across Bangladesh. According to the statistics of the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB), an average 47 people34 among them are childrenlose their life daily by accidental drowning. Bangladesh government can do more to prevent drowning which is presently the leading cause of child mortality in this country. A carefully-made anti-drowning plan would have helped the country to address this serious problem in a comprehensive and effective way. A diver can indeed help people during and after a disaster if he is available. But the diver will be at present at the urban area. But most drowning incidents take place in the rural areas and in the majority of cases help arrives only when the victim is already dead. So divers of BFSCD must focus on preventing a drowning incident in the first place. If the divers units primary task is to impart swimming lessons to children, this would be a great help. In fact, BFSCD can take up a swimming training programme for people willing to learn swimming as an integral part of their work on a permanent basis. BFSCD can pick willing students from schools and provide swimming training in designated pools or ponds as they are available in a locality. This can be worked out even by making use of the existing fire fighting personnel in addition to the creation of the divers unit. Funds for extra work for training on swimming can be made available. Evidence shows that a range of interventions is effective in the prevention of drowning. This includes the provision of safe places such as day care centres for pre-school children, and teaching school-age children basic swimming skills, among others. The multi-sectoral nature of drowning prevention demands improved coordination among government, non-government, and international development partners.