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An estimated 1,360 people die through submersion in and inhalation of water in Ghana annually, according to research.
The School of Public Health at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) disclosed a research it conducted.
The study, which aims to establish the availability of drowning data in existing national and district-level data sources, was based on a survey of 52 districts.
The data was collected through individual interviews at the community household level in 52 out of 260 districts from January 2019 to December 31, 2021.
In both cases, males dominated, nearly four times higher than females.
The deaths of males stood at 935, representing 82 percent, while females recorded 175, representing 15 per cent.
The study again found that adults aged 20 to 34 and children under 5 were at the highest risk.
Children between 0 to 4 years of age most frequently died in water/septic tanks, pits, and wells, while children and adolescents from 5 to 14 years of age and 15 to 19 years of age often died in rivers.
Speaking to Akoma News at a stakeholder event in the Kwabre East Municipality, Mrs. Cara Aidoo, the Ashanti regional supervisor for Performance Monitoring for Advancement at the School of Public Health at the KNUST, urged Ghanaians to protect and prevent children from drowning.
She also advocates for a community swimming rescue training team as part of the response to drowning incidents.
According to the study’s findings, the Ministry of Education should include a subject in the curriculum to teach students about drowning and how to stay safe from water.
The purpose of the stakeholder’s engagement was to digest the findings of the research concerning drowning in Ghana and measures to curb it.
By Enock Baffoe/uniquenewsgh.com
