As rainy season descends, children are
increasingly at risk for one of the nation’s biggest preventable killers –
drowning.
Already
police have tallied 132 deaths by drowning in Yangon Region alone in the first
five months of the year.
“Last
year, there were 317 drowning cases reported [in Yangon Region]. This year,
there have been 132 cases from January to May, including 14 females and 118
males. The cases include many children who died after falling into water,” said
a police captain of the Yangon Region Police Force who asked that his name not
be used.
According
to the World Health Organisation’s Global Report on Drowning, drowning ranks
among the 10 leading causes of death of children in every region of the world,
but Southeast Asia is particularly at risk, with the highest rate of child
drowning fatalities.
The WHO
called the issue “a serious and neglected public health” threat that garners
less attention than many communicable disease, yet is the third leading cause
of unintended deaths globally after car accidents and falls.
According
to Myanmar’s Health Management Information System, drowning is the leading
cause of injury deaths in the country, with 1257 to 1511 deaths per year since
2005.
More than
90 percent of the estimated 372,000 drowning around the world each year occur
in middle- or low-income countries, with children under five and males
disproportionately affected.
The
police have not disaggregated the Yangon Region data for the ages of the
victims, but four incidents within the first two weeks of June highlight the
danger for infants.
According
to the police, the incidents most often occur when children are bathing or
playing near a river, stream or lake, but also happen when children wander off
and fall into puddles or flooded areas near their homes.
On June
5, a child went with his father on a trip to buy farming equipment in Twante.
While the father was negotiating the deal, the child drowned.
In Dala
township on June 14, an eight-month-old baby was left with his 10-year-old
brother while their parents went to the Kyan Sitt Thar ward market. The
children, Ko Bo Bo Aung and Ko Aung Htoo Myaing, went outside to play. The
baby, Ko Aung Htoo Myaing, got lost and was found dead in a five-foot puddle,
according to a police report filed by Police Lieutenant Thet Naing.
In
another incident on June 13, a one-year-old child from Kyauktan township, who
was sleeping with her mother, crawled out of bed and died in a puddle in front
of their house.
In the
same week, a 10-year-old riding a bicycle on the Mawtin Kaing Dan jetty bridge
slipped, fell and died.
“By
looking at all the reports, the cases involve mostly infants and children up to
10 years old. Teenagers also skip school to swim in dams, rivers and streams
with their friends and die,” the police captain said.
Various
surveys have found that parents or guardians are often nearby during the deadly
accidents. According to the US Centers for Disease Control, in 10 percent of
all drowning cases adults witness the incident but do not recognise the signs
of what is occurring.
Stereotypes
of drowning symptoms – such as thrashing about and gasping for air – are not
actually indicative of the real, often less dramatic event. Drowning victims
are almost always unable to call out for assistance, and cannot, except in rare
circumstances, wave for help.
Health
officials suggest preventative measures, include educating parents and
caregivers about the signs and symptoms of drowning as well as how to respond
in an emergency situation.
Dr Aung
Thein Htay, a trauma project manager at the Ministry of Health, said that while
training bystanders on rescue and response efforts is important, the department
is not able to focus on drowning when traffic accidents are the number-one
killer.
“We
cannot do a lot of activities or campaigns around drowning because vehicle
accidents are the priority,” he said. “Now we are trying to compile a list of
[drowning] patients who came to the general hospitals in Yangon, Mandalay,
Magwe and Nay Pyi Taw.”
Nurse Daw
Phyu Phyu Aye from Thaketa township suggested parents take action by creating
barriers to separate children from water.
“In
houses with children the floors must be repaired … Wooden dowels can be made to
put at the bottom of doors so children cannot get out unsupervised,” she said.
“These cases are preventable and should not happen.”
Toe Wai
Aung
Translation by Khine Thazin Han and San Layy,
additional reporting by Shwe Yee Saw Myint and Laignee Barron
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