The first-ever art exhibition on child drowning prevention is being held at Exhibition Hall No. 45 Trang Tien Street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi between July 23-31. (Photo of the organiser) Theexhibition, entitled "Shared concerns and action”, was organised by theMinistry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in collaboration with theCampaign For Tobacco-Free Kids/Global Health Advocacy Incubator and the WorldHealth Organisation.
InApril 2021, the United Nations General Assembly for the first time in itshistory adopted a Resolution on Global Drowning and designated July 25 everyyear as World Drowning Prevention Day. In response to World Drowning PreventionDay 2022, the event aims to promote awareness among parents and the communityabout drowning accidents and effective prevention measures.
“InVietnam, drowning is the leading cause of death for children under the age of15. Through this exhibition, we want to raise awareness of child drowningdeaths, communicate that drowning is largely preventable and we want to talkabout the importance of drowning prevention interventions. We look forwardto continuing to work with the Vietnamese Government to create a safeenvironment for all children to grow up in,” said Yolonda Richardson, theExecutive Vice President of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.
Theexhibition space includes a special installation made of thousands of paperbutterflies called "Fragile". Each butterfly wing is a symbolic imagerepresenting children, both beautiful and fragile thus requiring attentionand care anywhere, anytime from adults.
According to the World Health Organisation, over the past decadedrowning has claimed the lives of more than 2.5 million people. It is also oneof the world’s leading causes of death among children aged 5-14. More than 90%of drowning cases occur in low-and middle-income countries. In Vietnam,drowning is one of the top ten causes of death for children aged 5 to 14. /.
VNA
