IMO has joined a new global initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO) to address preventable deaths from drowning. The Global Alliance for Drowning Prevention (GADP) was launched at an event in Geneva to mark UN World Drowning Prevention Day, to be held each year on 25 July.
The founding UN members of the Alliance are: IMO, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UNICEF and WHO.
Non-State actors joiing the alliance as founding members are: the Royal Life Saving Society, Australia; RNLI, United Kingdom; the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB); the George Institute for Global Health; and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
IMO's Olivier Lebrun highlighted IMO's role as the global regulator for shipping and the potential for synergies within the new alliance. "All water travel poses a drowning risk for passengers or crew - and IMO has adopted international instruments to mitigate this risk" he said. These treaties include the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS); the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW); the Cape Town Agreement on fishing vessel safety (not yet in force); the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F); and Model Regulations on Domestic Ferry Safety.
"The Global Alliance for Drowning Prevention provides a good opportunity to enhance some areas where improvement can be achieved," Mr. Lebrun said.
The Alliance is a network of partners who will work together to coordinate, strengthen, enhance, and expand efforts to prevent drowning deaths, aligned with WHO's priorities. The Alliance operates under the principles of alignment and coordination, agility and responsiveness, driving country-level action, transparency, evidence-based approaches, and coordination among interested parties.
IMO is taking part in a global webinar
