Cape Town - With the hot weather upon us, there are concerns that the country will see an epidemic of drownings as new stats show that approximately 1 500 people drown every year.
A study by the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) provided alarming insights into the reality of fatal drownings in South Africa from 2016 to 2021.
On Sunday the institute was kept busy with a fatal drowning in Mossel Bay.
NSRI Mossel Bay duty coxswain Andre Fraser said the duty crew responded to the drowning at Glentana Beach while they were conducting routine training on Sunday.
“On arrival at the scene it was found that a local neighbourhood watch member had rescued a female, believed to be aged 35, from Mossel Bay, from the water. CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) efforts commenced. Sadly, after all efforts to resuscitate the female were exhausted she was declared deceased by paramedics,” Fraser said.
According to the NSRI’s study, fatal drownings have increased in recent years, becoming a serious public health concern. This prompted a number of organisations to advocate for drowning prevention interventions.
However, for these interventions to be targeted, guidance from epidemiological data for South Africa was needed – which was now provided through this study.
The study, titled “A South African Epidemiological Study of Fatal Drownings: 2016–2021”, was authored by NSRI drowning prevention executive director Jill Fortuin, statistical consultant at University of Cape Town (UCT) Innocent Karangwa, NSRI drowning prevention research assistant Nongcebo Mahlalela, and NSRI CEO Cleeve Robertson.
The authors found that because most recommended drowning prevention interventions were designed for developed countries, they may not be applicable to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like South Africa.
“LMICs have been referred to as having the highest burden of global drownings. Approximately 90% of the annual global drownings occur in LMICs. Furthermore, Africa has been reported to have the highest drowning rates.
“Varying reasons have been cited as contributing factors, including the lack of drowning prevention initiatives, the lack of regulations and policies related to drowning prevention, insufficient water safety awareness and education campaigns, and a lack of basic swimming skills,” the authors stated.
Some of the statistics revealed the 0-4 age group had the highest prevalence of drowning among all the age categories, and that males represented 81% of all the drownings for the time period of the study (which could be attributed to more risky behaviour, according the authors).
Fortuin said, “What we never anticipated in this study is the high incidence of drowning among 0 to 4-year-olds. This is a huge concern. What we are seeing is that one child drowns every day, under the age of 4 years old – and within 20m of their home.
“That is an alarming statistic, and as the NSRI we appreciate finding this research because it allows us to take this information and implement it in our drowning prevention strategies within our organisation.”
The NSRI’s message this festive season is for people to supervise children diligently.
“With the festive season upon us, we are urging extreme caution to South Africans who will be making their way to the coast to not drink and swim, supervise children in and around the water and ensure that you know the emergency number,” Fortuin said.
The study also indicated that an abundance of resources were deployed to prevent drownings in the ocean, but drownings actually occurred more frequently in freshwater in South Africa.
Lifesaving South Africa (LSA) drowning prevention director Mziwoxolo Mayedwa said about 1 500 people, mostly the youth, drown every year in the country and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), drowning was regarded as the third leading cause of unintentional injury worldwide, accounting for 7% of all injury-related deaths.
Mayedwa said drowning incidents were increasing because SA was not a swimming nation, but LSA believed that conducting water safety and drowning prevention education was not enough, members of the public needed to learn to swim.