Tuesday, November 12, 2024
HomeopinionSafety first for swimmers

Safety first for swimmers

School break seasons in Thailand — the first from March to May and the second from October to November — are a time when drowning accidents among children 15 years old and below rise substantially.

In an attempt to solve the problem, government agencies often open free swimming courses with the hope that the training will save lives. The latest example of this is the project by the Royal Thai Police to provide free swimming lessons this month. Under the campaign, personnel with the Thai Marine Police Division will provide the lessons to children.

Such ad hoc swimming lessons put a much-needed spotlight on the drowning accidents issue, which is rarely on top of the policy agenda. The government and the media have devoted attention and resources to road traffic accidents despite the glaring fact that drowning is the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 1 and 11 years old. Traffic accidents are the number one cause of death among those aged 15 and over.

Indeed, the death toll from this accident is frightening. Every day, 10 people die from drowning on average or about 3,592 people a year, 737 of whom are children below the age of 15, according to statistics from the Ministry of Public Health released last year.

The death rate often peaks during school break seasons. Provinces with the highest rates of accidents are in the Northeast. Among 10 provinces with the highest death toll, eight of them are in the northeastern region.

Indeed, the rate of fatal drowning accidents in Thailand is at least five times higher than those in developed countries. According to a World Health Organization estimate in 2021, the Asean region had the second-highest drowning rate in the world.

Having such preventable loss is the outcome of negligence at the policy level. Unlike developed countries, Thai governments have ignored calls from swimming teacher groups to mandate laws that require schools to provide swimming lessons to students. These groups say that there aren’t any legal requirements for certified lifeguards to man swimming pools.

It is not that governments have not acknowledged these accidents. It is that their policies are band-aid solutions, such as the building of more swimming pools for practice and the hosting of classes during breaks.

The previous government last year launched the Thai Children Can Swim project, in which the Department of Physical Education aimed to train 9,311 children under 15 nationwide to swim. In addition, the previous government in 2020 earmarked 182 million baht for local administrations to construct 100 swimming pools in 100 communities for training. Yet, it remains to be seen whether the budget has been wisely spent and whether these infrastructures have reduced the death rate.

The problem is that policymakers overlook the glaring fact that parents and communities may make matters worse. Indeed, most fatal accidents took place because some children lacked parental supervision.

Such negligence comes from a bigger problem. Communities lack knowledge of the risks of letting children play in the water. A Ministry of Public Health record shows that 76.5% of accidents took place in villages with small rivers, ponds, man-made reservoirs and at sea. Yet, the government has not provided resources and proper training to educate and empower parents and communities to improve the safety of their children.

That said, teaching young children to swim is necessary but not enough. The government must teach parents and communities about risks and train them to provide safety and protection.

RELATED ARTICLES
- Advertisment -

Most Popular