Cambodia Boosts Swimming Education and Safety Training to Prevent Drowning

More than 500 people, including over 300 children, gathered in Siem Reap’s Run Ta Ek on July 27 to mark this year’s World Drowning Prevention Day. Government agencies, UNICEF Cambodia, and local partners called for greater action to prevent child drowning. Held under the global theme “United to Turn the Tide“, the event was organised by Hile Teuk Kampuchea (HTK), UNICEF Cambodia and the Ministry of Interior, in partnership with the Siem Reap provincial administration. Representatives from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, the Ministry of Health, local authorities, schools, development partners and community members joined the awareness campaign. They emphasised that drowning is preventable and that children can be protected through education, supervision, and practical water safety skills. Participants watched live rescue demonstrations, learned how lifesaving equipment is used, and received water safety guidance designed to reduce the risk of drowning in communities where many children are regularly exposed to rivers, ponds, and other open water. As part of the event, HTK delivered swimming lessons, water safety education, and hands-on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training, giving children and parents practical skills that could help save lives in emergencies. The event formed part of UNICEF’s child drowning prevention campaign in Cambodia, supported by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the Fondation Princesse Charlène de Monaco. The awareness campaign also coincided with another milestone for HTK, which celebrated the graduation of more than 60 children from its 10-day swimming and water safety programme in Siem Reap on July 25, the official date of World Drowning Prevention Day. The programme equips children with basic swimming ability, water safety knowledge, and survival techniques intended to reduce the risk of drowning. According to the WHO, drowning claims more than 300,000 lives worldwide each year — around 30 every hour — with nearly one-quarter of those deaths involving children under the age of five. In Cambodia, it is the leading cause of death for children aged between five and 14 years. More than 90 per cent of drowning deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, often in rivers, lakes, wells, and household water storage containers. Children and adolescents living in rural communities are disproportionately affected. HTK encouraged participants to share the water safety messages with their families and communities, stressing that increasing access to swimming lessons, water safety education, and lifesaving skills can play a vital role in preventing avoidable deaths among Cambodian children.