Table 1.
Percentage of countries meeting key indicators on drowning prevention in the americas, by subregion
| Area | Indicator | % North America (n = 2) | % Mesoamerica (n = 7) | % Caribbean (n = 6) | % South America (n = 11) | % All Region (n = 26) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management and coordination | Countries with a government nominated national focal person or sector/department for drowning prevention | 0% (0) | 57% (4) | 50% (3) | 36% (4) | 42% (11) |
| Countries with a national coordination mechanism for drowning prevention including the government | 100% (2) | 29% (2) | 0% (0) | 27% (3) | 27% (7) | |
| Countries who have a national drowning prevention strategy | 100% (2) | 29% (2) | 17% (1) | 9% (1) | 23% (6) | |
| Countries who have a national drowning prevention strategy with specific and measurable mortality reduction targets and timeframes | 50% (1) | 14% (1) | 0% (0) | 0% (0) | 8% (2) | |
| Countries that capture drowning deaths through their civil registration and vital statistics registers | 100% (2) | 57% (4) | 67% (4) | 64% (7) | 65% (17) | |
| Countries that routinely collect at least one source of sufficiently detailed drowning data (with level of detailed recorded including age, sex, activity at time of drowning and type of water body) | 100% (2) | 86% (6) | 100% (6) | 55% (6) | 77% (20) | |
| Countries with research/academic institutions actively contributing to reducing the likelihood of drowning | 100% (2) | 0% (0) | 0% (0) | 55% (6) | 31% (8) | |
| Countries running national mass media communication campaigns with a specific focus to prevent drowning | 100% (2) | 57% (4) | 33% (2) | 18% (2) | 38% (10) | |
| Policies and legislations | Countries that have a dedicated national strategy, policy or plan for disaster risk management that prioritizes drowning risk reduction | 50% (1) | 29% (2) | 17% (1) | 27% (3) | 27% (7) |
| Countries with national laws that set out minimum safety requirements for the seaworthiness and operation (e.g. operator certification, passenger capacity etc.) of domestic passenger vessels | 100% (2) | 86% (6) | 100% (6) | 91% (10) | 92% (24) | |
| Countries with national regulations which make lifejacket use compulsory during recreational boating and/or on passenger transport vessels. | 0% (0) | 71% (5) | 50% (3) | 82% (9) | 65% (17) | |
| Countries with national laws that require the use of fencing to exclude unsupervised child access to public and or private swimming pools | 0% (0) | 14% (1) | 33% (2) | 18% (2) | 19% (5) | |
| Countries that regulate alcohol consumption and/or sales from vendors operating in close proximity to public waterbodies such as beaches and public swimming pools at the national level | 0% (0) | 29% (2) | 17% (1) | 27% (3) | 23% (6) | |
| Community interventions | Countries who implement interventions promoting installation of physical barriers to control the access of children to water at the national level | 0% (0) | 14% (1) | 33% (2) | 27% (3) | 23% (6) |
| Countries teaching swimming and water safety to children through schools as part of routine national curriculum | 0% (0) | 0% (0) | 17% (1) | 9% (1) | 8% (2) | |
| Countries who provide safe places for pre-school children with structured arrangements for childcare provided by trained adults at the national level | 0% (0) | 0% (0) | 33% (2) | 18% (2) | 15% (4) | |
| Countries with a nationally operating, dedicated search and rescue service, which is fully operational | 100% (2) | 86% (6) | 67% (4) | 64% (7) | 73% (19) | |
| Countries that provide lifeguard services at all designated public swimming venues at the national level | 0% (0) | 57% (4) | 50% (3) | 36% (4) | 42% (11) | |
| Countries that offer regular and financially accessible programmes with accredited trainers to train bystanders in safe rescue and resuscitation with national coverage | 50% (1) | 29% (2) | 17% (1) | 27% (3) | 27% (7) | |
| Countries with advanced national cyclone/flood/tsunami warning systems in place and are operational | 50% (1) | 86% (6) | 100% (6) | 64% (7) | 77% (20) | |
| Countries who provide freely available weather alerts with information for safety on or near waterbodies, or in direct relation to flooding risks at the national level | 50% (1) | 86% (6) | 100% (6) | 91% (10) | 88% (23) | |
| Countries with national community resilience programmes that include drowning prevention measures for example basic rescue, first aid, swim skills and other drowning prevention awareness | 0% (0) | 57% (4) | 33% (2) | 9% (1) | 27% (7) | |
| Countries who undertake national efforts to build community resilience to disasters and to manage flood risks | 50% (1) | 86% (6) | 67% (4) | 82% (9) | 77% (20) |