Tun Dato' Seri Utama Haji Abdul Rahman Bin Haji Abbas, Governor of Penang;
Dato' Haji Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Minister for Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government;
Mr Graham Ford, President of the International Life Saving Federation;
Distinguished colleagues; Ladies and gentlemen:
It is a pleasure to be in Malaysia again. I would like to thank the International Life Saving Federation for the invitation, and the Government of Malaysia for hosting this conference.
Over the next three days, you will be discussing a serious public health problem: drowning.
Experts estimate that a drowning occurs every 85 seconds, amounting to 372 000 deaths each year in the world.
Drowning is a major cause of death among children. Every four minutes, a child under 15 dies of drowning. In fact, drowning kills more children aged 5 to 14 than any other cause in the world.
In public health there are many priorities.
We worry about dengue. We worry about tuberculosis, AIDS, measles, meningitis and malaria.
But the evidence shows that more children die from drowning than all these other conditions combined.
The figures are troubling. But they still do not show the full burden, because many drowning deaths are not recorded as such. Victims of a storm surge or a ferry capsizing — for example — are often not classified as drowning deaths.
In order to address the problem properly, we have to improve the data — starting with consolidated figures that reflect the full scope of the problem.
Evidence is key to guide policy and programmes to prevent drowning.
But first, we need to change the perception that drowning events are accidents. Many people still believe that drowning deaths cannot be prevented.
Drowning can be prevented. There is increasing evidence on effective strategies for primary prevention, rescue and resuscitation.
We must change the perception of drowning as an inevitable consequence of being near water.
When a child drowns it is not an accident. It is due to our indifference and neglect.
Last month in Guam, the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific endorsed the first regional action plan for violence and injury prevention. WHO will support Member States in their efforts to prevent a broad range of violence and injury, including drowning.
In particular, WHO will assist Member States in finding ways to coordinate action across government sectors — and collect and utilize good data so that these action plans are guided by solid evidence.
The Sustainable Development Goals is a critical mechanism for scaling up action. The SDGs include provisions aimed at ending preventable deaths in children, better managing access to the water and preventing water-related disasters.
All of these efforts can help address drowning prevention.
But first, we must strengthen political commitment and investment — because donor support in this area is scarce.
We must engage communities and civil society to work with government to prevent drowning in every community, every village, every city.
This conference is a perfect opportunity to build consensus and support for broader action to address these preventable tragedies.
I am encouraged to see strong participation in this conference not only from my Region, but also from the WHO regions of South-East Asia and Africa. I know I speak for the other regional directors in saying that we look forward to hearing the results of your constructive discussions.
Thank you.