The Lagos State Safety Commission and its partner, Global Sports Exclusive Promotions have joined the rest of the world in marking the World Drowning Prevention Day in the State by staging a walk.
The road walk was held to sensitise the public and draw attention to the alarming rate of drowning incidents in swimming pools, beach houses and waterways in the state.
The event saw a large turnout of participants who walked from Ikeja Under Bridge to JJT Park in Alausa.
The walk, which began at 8:02 a.m. saw participants from various walks of life, including government officials, all emergency responders like Red Cross, Fire service, sports enthusiasts, and concerned citizens.
The event aimed to educate the public about the risks associated with drowning and promote measures to prevent such incidents.
Lanre Mojola, Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission, who spoke at the event, emphasised the need for immediate actions to educate all residents of Lagos on drowning prevention and as well equipped residents with essential life-saving skills
“We are proud to collaborate with Global Sports Exclusive Promotions to raise awareness about the prevention of drowning. This event is a crucial step towards creating a safer society, and we are committed to continuing our efforts in this regard,” Mojola said.
Mojola stated that in tandem with the Commission’s mandate to promote the safety and well-being of citizens within the different communities, the Commission highlighted the need for approval to organize the “Community Safety Lifeguard Initiative” focused on drowning prevention through measures to reduce drowning deaths in Lagos State.
He said these included lifeguard training and certification; training children on water safety skills and swimming; bystanders on safe rescue and resuscitation techniques and disseminating water safety information using different media.
“We must ensure that students, teachers, and community members are well-informed and trained on water safety. To this end, the initiative will be in three phases: public sensitization on drowning prevention in the media, training school children on water safety across the Six Educational Districts in Lagos State and lifeguards/ bystander training and certification,” Mojola said.
He explained that the initiative underscored the preventable nature of drowning, served as a necessary effective strategy to mitigate drowning incidents, emphasized the importance of water safety, among others.
Mojola added: “Accordingly, putting into perspective the importance of awareness creation, the World Health Organization, WHO, has declared July 25 of every year as World Drowning Prevention Day, to raise awareness about the devastating and long term effect of drowning on family and society.”
Dr. Olawale Age-Sulaimon, Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Special Duties and intergovernmental Relations, said drowning among Lagosians irrespective of age, creed and race had been rampant, probably due to prevalence of water in Lagos.
He warned those who did not know how to swim to desist from swimming, saying that those who must swim should be assisted with swimming aides and gadgets.
