Intensify swimming lessons to prevent drowning in Ghana — LPP

Amid growing concerns over drowning-related deaths in Ghana, especially among children, Life Partners Platform (LPP), an outfit focused on drowning prevention, has urged schools and communities to embrace swimming education as a vital lifesaving skill.

Country Representative of LPP, Kofi Koranteng Abrokwaa, described the situation as dire and called for immediate intervention through basic swimming training.

Speaking at a media briefing in Accra, he stated that in communities along Lake Volta, coastal towns, and parts of urban Ghana such as Accra and Kumasi, flooding and water travel were common, yet safety education remained minimal.

“Drowning remains one of the leading causes of unintentional deaths globally, ranking third among injury-related mortality.

The toll is heaviest in low and middle-income countries such as Ghana, where children living in flood-prone or water-reliant communities often have little or no access to structured swimming instruction,” Mr Abrokwaa said.

Additionally, he noted that many rural settlements relied on fishing as a primary source of livelihood and frequently used rivers and lakes for daily activities, including transport.

“However, these areas are often marked by low socioeconomic conditions, high rates of teenage parenthood, limited educational attainment, and minimal child supervision, all of which are contributing factors to drowning,” he said.

Mr Abrokwaa further stated that the lack of swimming skills, combined with poor supervision, the absence of life jackets, and risky behaviours such as alcohol use near water bodies, put many lives at risk.

He also cited cultural misconceptions and low awareness of water safety as additional barriers.

“Swimming should not be seen as a luxury or a sport for the privileged. It is a public health necessity,” Mr Abrokwaa stressed.

“If children are taught how to float, stay calm in water or seek help when needed, we would significantly reduce the number of lives lost,” he noted.

Statistics

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and a 2023 study by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) School of Public Health, stated that Ghana records between 1,360 and 1,400 drownings each year.

The bodies rank drowning among the top causes of unintentional injury-related deaths in the country.

The study identified children aged zero to four and young adults between 20 and 34 years as the most affected groups.

It also revealed that males are four times more likely to drown than females, due to their higher exposure to water-related activities such as fishing and boat transport.

Many of the deaths occur in rivers, lakes and coastal waters, particularly in rural and peri-urban communities that lack access to formal swimming instruction, life jackets, and safe water infrastructure.

Awareness

To help curb the trend, Life Partners Platform marked this year’s World Drowning Prevention Day with a series of awareness events at Nzulezu, the Afram Plains, and other high-risk communities.

The organisation conducted engagement activities in places such as Weija-Gbawe and Wusuta, where a draft community water safety plan had been developed.

As part of its wider advocacy, LPP is also promoting road safety, addiction recovery, and emotional resilience in schools and communities, recognising the interconnected nature of these issues in building safer societies.

Commending the initiative, the educational development platform in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

The Panje Project described Ghana’s approach as bold and necessary, expressing its readiness to collaborate with LPP to scale up swimming safety initiatives across the continent.