Project Bhasa - Ending the drowning epidemic in Barishal division, Bangladesh

The Barisal Drowning Reduction Project – Bhasa is a multi-stakeholder approach to drowning reduction within a sub-region of Bangladesh.

It is estimated that 321,000 drowning deaths occur globally each year. That is a global drowning rate of one person every 80 seconds. More than 90% of drownings occur in low and middle income countries (LMICs). However, little is known about the impact of drowning on communities, both socially and economically. In this document, we report on the findings of a household population-based cross-sectional survey to understand the burden and context of fatal drowning in the Barishal division of Bangladesh. We investigated drowning cases by demographic characteristics and features of the drowning event. We also report on the qualitative findings, which helped us understand the context, beliefs and behaviour that influence water safety practices in the Barishal division.

Read the full project report (PDF 17 MB)