Understanding and Preventing Drowning

Released in June 2024, a Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that from 2020–2022, more than 4,500 people drowned each year in the United States, approximately 500 more deaths compared to 2019. Drowning risk continues to be highest among American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) persons and Black persons. 

To address this public health problem and tackle the underlying health disparities among people at higher risk, the CDC Foundation and CDC are working to build an evidence base for effective drowning prevention strategies across 10 U.S. pilot states with high rates of drowning: Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Oklahoma and Texas. These projects include:

• Basic Swimming and Water Safety Skills Training in the United States: Awarded 20 grants to community organizations in partnership with local school systems across all 10 states to increase access to swimming and water safety lessons for school-age children. Learn more about this impactful program.

• Strengthening Drowning Data: Identifying opportunities to bolster fatal and nonfatal drowning data collection and surveillance and describe the burden and circumstances of drowning using new and existing data sources.
• Understanding Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Drowning: Conducting focus group discussions to better understand the cultural, systemic and historical drivers of racial disparities in drowning, with a focus on AIAN and Black persons.
• Analyzing Drowning Policies in the United States: Cataloguing current pool fencing and lifejacket legislation to inform policymakers.
  
  

Understanding and Preventing Drowning Globally

The CDC Foundation and CDC provide technical assistance to drowning prevention partners in low- and middle-income countries and mentor emerging leaders from around the world. 

From 2020 to 2023, the program conducted a study to better understand the burden and circumstances of drowning in Ghana. This study yielded the first national fatal drowning rate for the country, at 4.4 drowning deaths per 100,000 people, notably higher than previous estimates. Lessons learned from these data collection efforts will be shared with global audiences through international conferences and peer-reviewed publications.