Swimming campaign to be launched to prevent drowning

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The campaign aims to attract 3,000-5,000 local children and people, the organising board said at a press briefing in Hanoi on May 15.

At the grassroots level, activities to respond to the campaign will take place on May 30 and June 1 at swimming pools across the country, which is coincident with the beginning of the summer break of students.

Vice Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration Nguyen Hong Minh cited a report by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs that during the 2010-2015, more than 3,000 youngsters and children die of drowning, including about 2,200 children under 16 years old, each year.

However, the number of victims was reduced to 2,000 in 2017 and 782 in the first half of 2018, he noted.

Minh pointed out that the majority of the cases were due to a lack of anti-drowning skills as well as the supervision of adults on children in unsafe conditions and natural disasters such as flooding.

In order to minimise drowning victims, in 2019, the administration and relevant agencies will apply a number of measures, including the popularisation of the law on the amendments and supplements to the Sports Law and encourage swimming movements, especially among children.

At the same time, the administration will focus on popularising safety skills in the water environment and drowning prevention skills, added Minh.