Aligned in Mission: How the WHO Global Strategy for Drowning Prevention and the Association of Aquatic Professionals Are Working Together to Save Lives

Drowning is a preventable tragedy that claims lives across the globe. There are an estimated 300,000 annual drowning deaths worldwide, with children aged under 5 years accounting for nearly a quarter of all drowning deaths. In response to this urgent public health crisis, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a comprehensive Global Strategy for Drowning Prevention, bringing together diverse stakeholders to coordinate efforts and save lives. Here in the United States, the Association of Aquatic Professionals (AOAP) is demonstrating how a dedicated organization can align perfectly with this global strategy through practical, community-focused drowning prevention work.

Understanding the WHO Global Strategy

The first-ever Global Strategy for Drowning Prevention has now been finalized following a process of development by the GADP and public consultation. It responds to an urgent need to unite a diverse multisectoral and multistakeholder audience through shared goals and a coordinated effort to meet the drowning challenge in all its forms. The strategy emphasizes coordination, evidence-based interventions, multisectoral partnerships, and standardized approaches tailored to local needs.

The WHO strategy promotes several key interventions, including installing barriers to restrict access to bodies of water, providing safe places for children with supervised childcare areas, teaching swimming and water safety skills, training bystanders in safe rescue and resuscitation, and enacting and enforcing water safety policies.

The Association of Aquatic Professionals: A Mission Aligned with Global Goals

The Association of Aquatic Professionals is a 501©3 non-profit organization with a clear mission: “We believe in promoting and supporting the aquatic profession through advocacy, research, and education on aquatic issues and to provide a common forum for members, educators, and aquatic suppliers that contributes to their professional advancement”. The organization provides life jackets and swim lesson grants to communities to help support the drowning prevention message, with the main goal in everything they do being to educate professionals and the public on safe practices in and around water.

This mission aligns seamlessly with the WHO Global Strategy’s emphasis on education, community-based interventions, and multisectoral collaboration.

The RESPECT the Water Drowning Prevention Campaign

One of AOAP’s flagship initiatives is the RESPECT the Water Drowning Prevention Campaign, which provides a memorable framework for drowning prevention education. The Association of Aquatic Professionals is committed to helping prevent drownings nationwide. They believe with a little education and training, learning to RESPECT the water and prevent drowning tragedies is within our reach.

The RESPECT acronym breaks down essential drowning prevention principles:

• Recognize – recognize the signs of non-swimmers, tired swimmers, distressed swimmers and potentially unsafe situations

• Education – learn what factors can lead to drowning

• Supervision – direct, constant supervision is key

• Physical barriers – provide fencing, safety covers, alarms and life jackets

• Expectations – understand what to expect from the aquatic environment and the body’s response, know your limits

• Communicate – warn and inform, communicate the dangers that are present in, on and around the water

• Training – learn to swim and how to respond to an emergency

This comprehensive approach mirrors the WHO strategy’s emphasis on multiple intervention layers and community education. Through her work with the AOAP, executive director Juliene Hefter promotes the organization’s Respect the Water campaign by providing swim facilities with life jackets, grant funding and literature to help educate both operators and patrons on drowning prevention.

The Water Watcher Program: Supervision as a Critical Layer

Constant supervision is a cornerstone of drowning prevention, and AOAP has developed innovative resources to promote this concept. Water Watcher by AOAP is a program designed to give caregivers a visual reminder to R.E.S.P.E.C.T. the water, keep constant watch, avoid distractions and stay at their post.

The program includes practical tools such as Water Watcher cards that can be distributed at facilities to designate an adult responsible for supervising children in the water. This simple yet effective intervention directly supports the WHO strategy’s emphasis on supervision as a key drowning prevention measure.

Water Watcher by AOAP: Children’s Books That Educate and Empower

AOAP has taken drowning prevention education a step further by creating a series of three children’s books that teach water safety concepts through engaging stories. These books align with the WHO strategy’s emphasis on education and awareness-raising at all levels.

Book 1: The Importance of Wearing a Life Jacket

Water Watcher by AOAP is a captivating story that weaves a powerful message into an entertaining narrative. The colorful illustrations and engaging storytelling will captivate the imagination of young readers, while simultaneously teaching them an invaluable lesson about personal safety. Join Vesty, Blu, Shy, Maddie and Miles as they embark on a thrilling journey, teaching us all about the significance of wearing a life jacket and the importance of RESPECTing the water.

Book 2: The Importance of Having a Water Watcher

The second book is a concise and engaging children’s book that teaches the crucial lesson of water safety through the story of two sisters, Sandy and Jan. In a grand pool setting, they learn from their mother about the critical rule of always having a Water Watcher - an attentive adult to supervise them while they swim and play in the water.

Book 3: A Tale of Home Pool Safety

In the third installment of the Water Watcher series by AOAP, the focus shifts to the importance of home pool safety. This captivating tale continues to inspire children to make safe choices around water, extending its scope from the vast ocean and serene lakes to the familiarity of home pools. The story emphasizes the significance of having fencing around home pools. It creatively illustrates how such a simple precaution can play a crucial role in preventing accidents and ensuring the safety of our little adventurers.

These books provide an accessible way to introduce children to the layers of protection emphasized in both the RESPECT campaign and the WHO Global Strategy, including physical barriers, supervision, and personal flotation devices.

Safety Resources for Camps: Reaching High-Risk Settings

Summer camps represent settings where children engage in aquatic activities, often away from their parents’ direct supervision. Recognizing this, AOAP provides specialized resources to support safe aquatic operations at camps.

AOAP offers a Camp Directors’ Guide to Safe Aquatic Operations for camp directors to learn how to keep their aquatic activities safe and fun with this easy-to-follow guide. This resource helps camp directors implement comprehensive safety plans that address the unique challenges of managing aquatic programs with large groups of children.

By providing targeted guidance to camp professionals, AOAP supports the WHO strategy’s emphasis on developing sector-specific interventions and building capacity among those responsible for aquatic safety.

Additional Resources and Comprehensive Support

Beyond these signature programs, AOAP provides a comprehensive suite of resources that align with the WHO Global Strategy:

• Aquatic Safety Plan & Checklist: Member resources that help facilities implement systematic safety protocols

• Swim Lesson and Life Jacket Grant Program: Quarterly grants available to AOAP members to expand access to swimming lessons and life jackets

• Annual Conference and Exposition: Educational opportunities covering drowning prevention, risk management, staff training, and facility operations

• Drowning Prevention Links: Curated resources connecting professionals to additional drowning prevention programs

AOAP offers on-demand educational webinars on a variety of topics from Drowning Prevention, Technical Operations, Risk Management/Legal Liability, Programming/Special Events, Staff Training, and University programs.

A Model for Local Implementation of Global Strategy

The work of the Association of Aquatic Professionals demonstrates how the WHO Global Strategy for Drowning Prevention can be translated into practical, community-level action. Through education campaigns like RESPECT the Water, innovative programs like Water Watcher, engaging children’s books, professional development opportunities, and targeted resources for high-risk settings like camps, AOAP embodies the multisectoral, evidence-based, and community-focused approach that the WHO strategy envisions.

The WHO strategy offers a global-to-local approach, with affected people and populations at the center of all decisions. AOAP’s work exemplifies this principle by providing aquatic professionals with the tools, education, and resources they need to implement effective drowning prevention measures in their own communities.

As we work toward the shared goal of reducing drowning deaths, the alignment between global strategies like the WHO’s and dedicated organizations like AOAP shows us the path forward. Through coordinated efforts, evidence-based interventions, comprehensive education, and a commitment to making water safety accessible to all, we can turn the tide on this preventable tragedy and save lives across the United States and around the world.