Background Nepal, with its diverse water bodies, estimated 1500 drown annually, primarily the children, adolescents, and youths. The foundation of this situation assessment is rooted to World Drowning Prevention Day event organised, in Southern Nepal, in July 2023 raising awareness of the issue in high-risk communities and prompting local stakeholders to evaluate the situation of drowning in the country.

Objective To identify risk areas to drowning, gather community perspectives and opportunities for local collaborations for drowning prevention.

Programme Description This situation assessment was organised by three municipalities: Janakpurdham sub-metropolitan, Gadhimai municipality, and Dhodhara-Chadani municipality with the support of WHO Nepal. A rapid community assessment approach was applied- meetings with mayor, deputy-mayor, chiefs of relevant departments, ward chairs, headteachers, and victims’ families. A thorough inspection of settlements, riversides, homes, school areas, and pond edges, was conducted to pinpoint areas prone to drowning hazards. The selection of these sites was guided by local key informants and the police records of drowning incidents for the past three years. Some anecdotes were also obtained from friends and family members of deceased persons.

Outcomes and Learnings Open water sources- rivers, canals, ponds, open drainage, ditches, were also identified as drowning hazards by the locals. Children from impoverished, Dalit, and marginalized ethnic communities are disproportionately vulnerable to drowning during activities around ponds, such as diving from trees, bathing, swimming, fishing, cutting grass, and engaging in religious ceremonies. Alcohol consumption in picnic, suicidal jumping into water bodies was also acknowledged as contributing factors. Local advisory committees were formed in the presence of municipality representatives to initiate the development of a drowning prevention plan tailored to the local needs.

Implications Children, particularly from the poor marginalised communities, are at highest risk of drowning. Implementing proven community-based childcare, drowning survival skills and supervision centres alongside drowning awareness programs integrated into educational institutions can effectively prevent drowning incidents.

Conclusions Overall, the drowning situation assessment highlights the need for a comprehensive and multi-pronged approach to drowning prevention in Nepal. It urgently calls the stakeholders for the development of policy, strategies and programmes to save people from this preventable cause of deaths.