Background Drowning is the sixth leading cause of death worldwide for children aged 5–14 years, making it an urgent priority for many countries. However, over 90% of drowning deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries with limited resources and competing priorities.

Objectives National drowning prevention programs must be government-led and funded in order to be effective and sustainable long-term.

Programme Description The lead agency for drowning prevention in a country should be identified from the start of designing a national program. Providing the mandate to government to coordinate and implement the program lays the foundation for other stakeholders to contribute effectively. The mandate to address child drowning must also be tied to a line in the lead agency’s annual budget. Country ownership over the program can be built by connecting the goals of drowning prevention with national health and economic goals. By aligning drowning prevention with larger health and development issues, the support for the program can be spread across the range of sectors necessary to address the issue.

Outcomes and Learnings Since 2017, GHAI has partnered with the Government of Vietnam to design and implement their national drowning prevention program. Identifying a lead ministry, MOLISA, at the start of the program built ownership and supported inter-ministerial coordination in the years to come. Over the last five years, government funding for the program has increased annually and the number agencies contributing to drowning prevention has reached a level not achieved before. GHAI also supported the allocation of nearly a $30 million public private partnership in Bangladesh which helped create a national drowning prevention program to support over 8,000 childcare centers.

Implications The approach to government ownership in Vietnam and Bangladesh can be applied to other countries where child health and safety are on the national policy agenda.

Conclusions The cases of Vietnam and Bangladesh shows the potential for success in low- and middle-income countries when child drowning prevention is prioritized, and the responsibility is shared among government agencies with the mandate and funding to address it.