Marking World Drowning Prevention Day 2025: A Global Movement for Safer Waters

The day was established as part of the first-ever UN General Assembly Resolution on Global Drowning Prevention, adopted in 2021 – a resolution that the RNLI was proud to play a pivotal role in securing.

Since then, the RNLI has continued to be at the heart of this global effort, championing the cause across the UK and Ireland and supporting events and initiatives with partners around the world.

This year’s World Drowning Prevention Day saw an inspiring level of engagement globally, with events and campaigns taking place in over 80 countries. Our international partners worked tirelessly to bring water safety to life in their communities – educating, empowering, and celebrating local action.

Community activity in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, our partner the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB), led an ambitious month-long programme of activities to commemorate the day. Highlights included:

Drawing competition to raise awareness

Held across 21 schools in the Barishal division, this creative initiative saw 470 children take part. Finalists’ artwork was displayed at a sub-district exhibition, where winners were selected in two categories by a panel of judges. The competition gave children a platform to express their understanding of drowning risks and share life-saving messages with their peers.

First response training for Scouts

40 young Scouts received vital training focused on emergency first response, with an emphasis on CPR. The training aimed to equip youth with the confidence and skills to act during emergencies, particularly natural disasters and flood situations.

Promoting water safety through sport

A swimming competition brought together boys and girls from the SwimSafe programme, demonstrating CIPRB’s commitment to inclusion and sport as a tool for safety education.

School engagement in Tanzania

In Tanzania, our partner Environmental Management and Economic Development Organization (EMEDO) brought water safety education directly into schools. At Ukwamani Primary School in Dar es Salaam, students took part in a special World Drowning Prevention Day event that included:

• A powerful poem and play exploring the dangers of water and the importance of safe behaviour.
• An interactive danger-spotting game and Q&A built around our 10 key water safety messages.
• Storytelling and student-led learning, showcasing that children can be powerful changemakers in their communities.

State level engagement in India 

In India, our partner organisation Children in Need Institute, India (CINI) held over 70 events in West Bengal, covering 10 districts. These events, which were aimed at community level, district level and state level, reached an estimated 10,000 people. 

The events were aimed at raising awareness of the burden of drowning and shared positive messages and experiences of those who had benefitted from receiving rescue and resuscitation training, supported by the RNLI. 

Highlighting fishing safety at the United Nations (UN)

The RNLI was proud to co-host an event on 15 July at UN Headquarters in New York, held as part of the High-Level Political Forum. Co-organised with the governments of Ireland and Bangladesh, the event focused on the connection between drowning prevention and fishing safety – an issue of real significance in low-income coastal and lakeside communities worldwide.

The event featured an outstanding line-up, with speakers from:

• Four UN agencies
• Four national governments
• Five civil society organisations, including the RNLI

We were thrilled to have Editrudith Lukanga, Executive Director of EMEDO on the panel. She shared her insights from the Lake Victoria Drowning Prevention Project, which is part funded by the Irish Government through their international development programme. The Ambassador of Ireland to the UN was able to hear first-hand about the lifesaving potential of their support to help prevent drowning for fishing communities through the project. 

A Global Movement – Made Personal

World Drowning Prevention Day reminds us that while drowning is a global challenge, solutions are effective when they are locally driven and community focused. The RNLI’s international team, together with our partners, continues to champion this approach – supporting programmes that save lives today, while helping build safer futures for generations to come.

From creative competitions in schools to global policy influence at the UN, every action matters – and every life saved reaffirms the purpose of this day.

Thank you to everyone across the RNLI and our partner network who helped make this year’s World Drowning Prevention Day such a success.

The World Health Organization (WHO) World Drowning Prevention Day 2025 recap video – which illustrates the vast reach of this year’s day can be viewed on YouTube.