Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – A campaign to encourage the communityto practice swimming for drowning prevention will be launched on May 19 at the culture,information and sports centre of Hanoi’s Long Bien district, according to theorganising board.
The campaign aims to attract 3,000-5,000 local children andpeople, the organising board said at a press briefing in Hanoi on May 15.
At the grassroots level, activities to respond to thecampaign will take place on May 30 and June 1 at swimming pools across thecountry, which is coincident with the beginning of the summer break ofstudents.
Vice Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration NguyenHong Minh cited a report by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairsthat during the 2010-2015, more than 3,000 youngsters and children die ofdrowning, including about 2,200 children under 16 years old, each year.
However, the number of victims was reduced to 2,000 in 2017and 782 in the first half of 2018, he noted.
Minh pointed out that the majority of the cases were due toa lack of anti-drowning skills as well as the supervision of adults on childrenin unsafe conditions and natural disasters such as flooding.
In order to minimise drowning victims, in 2019, theadministration and relevant agencies will apply a number of measures, includingthe popularisation of the law on the amendments and supplements to the SportsLaw and encourage swimming movements, especially among children.
At the same time, the administration will focus on popularisingsafety skills in the water environment and drowning prevention skills, addedMinh.-VNA
VNA
