The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

At least 46 children drown everyday in the country and 17,000 annually as the drowning death toll peaks during the floods, a report of the UNICEF said.

The research conducted by the UNICEF said drowning was responsible for 87 per cent of the total child deaths caused by the floods in 2007.

Given the high prevalence of child injury, the UNICEF undertook a pilot initiative to respond to this situation, said Iyorlumun Uhaa, acting Country Representative of UNICEF Bangladesh.

She said after two years of implementation, the project has proved that most deaths could be averted by some simple safety interventions like giving swimming lessons to children, bamboo fencing of ponds, community awareness and daycare centers that provide supervised care of children.

The study says children in Asia are at high risk of dying from injuries such as drowning and road accidents. Surveys from Bangladesh, China, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam reveal that injury is the leading cause of death and disability among children older than one year of age in these countries, with drowning taking the heaviest toll.

Bangladesh was one of the first countries where such a survey was conducted in 2004, showing that drowning claims one of four lives among children aged between 1 and 17 years old.