What do covering wells, putting gates across doorways and fencing pools have in common?

Every year about 300,000 people around the world die by drowning. The global rate has fallen by 38 per cent since 2000, but drowning is still a leading cause of death, and 92 per cent of these deaths happen in low- and middle-income countries.

Young children are most at risk. Children under five make up nearly a quarter of all drowning deaths, and drowning is the fourth leading cause of death for children aged one to four, and the third for those aged five to fourteen. Males drown at more than twice the rate of females. Drowning also takes the lives of people who work on the water, such as fishermen, and it causes about three-quarters of all deaths in floods.

Most of these deaths can be prevented, and the measures are often simple. Covering wells, putting gates across doorways and fencing pools keep small children away from water. Supervised day care for children too young for school keeps them safe while their parents work. Teaching school-age children to swim and to stay safe in water gives them skills for life. Safe rules for boats and ferries, and plans for floods, protect everyone else.