IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1388 

Supporting the goals and ideals of World Drowning Prevention Day. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2024 

Ms. OMAR (for herself and Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of World Drowning 

Prevention Day. 

Whereas drowning is the third-leading cause of unintentional 

injury death worldwide, accounting for 7 percent of all 

injury-related deaths; 

Whereas drowning has caused more than 2,500,000 preventable deaths in the past decade, a silent epidemic of preventable loss; 

Whereas drowning is among the 10 leading causes of death 

for children and young people aged 1–24 years in every 

region of the world; 

Whereas flood-related disasters increasingly affect millions of 

people globally due in part to the escalating adverse impacts of climate change, and drowning is the leading 

cause of deaths during floods; 


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•HRES 1388 IH 

Whereas more than 90 percent of drowning deaths occur in 

rivers, lakes, wells, domestic water storage vessels, and 

swimming pools in low- and middle-income countries; 

Whereas over 90 percent of global drowning occurs in lowand middle-income countries, and in high-income countries, drowning rates are high among certain age groups 

and among minority ethnic groups; 

Whereas the human, social, and economic toll of these losses 

is intolerably high, and entirely preventable; 

Whereas the World Health Organization has set out six evidence-based, low-cost drowning prevention interventions 

that countries and organizations can use to drastically reduce the risk of drowning, including— 

(1) teaching school-age children basic swimming, 

water safety, and safe rescue skills; 

(2) providing safe places away from water for preschool children; 

(3) installing barriers to better prevent access to 

water; 

(4) training bystanders in safe rescue and resuscitation; 

(5) setting and enforcing boating, shipping, and 

ferry regulations; and 

(6) improving flood risk management locally and nationally; and 

Whereas the United Nations General Assembly adopted a historic resolution in April 2021 recognizing the scale and 

impact of drowning globally, calling for coordinated 

multisectoral action to prevent drowning, and declaring 

July 25 World Drowning Prevention Day: Now, therefore, be it 


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•HRES 1388 IH 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the goals and ideals of World 

3 Drowning Prevention Day to catalyze concrete ac4 tion and generate attention globally for drowning 

5 prevention and improved water safety; 

6 (2) recognizes the importance of this global ad7 vocacy event as an opportunity to highlight the trag8 ic and profound impact of drowning on families and 

9 communities and offer lifesaving solutions to prevent 

10 it; and 

11 (3) encourages intergovernment cooperation to 

12 develop new drowning prevention policies, legislation, 

13 or investment, and to convene multisectoral 

14 roundtables or parliamentary discussions. 

Æ 


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