The official opening - the IDRC will carry out research to develop effective and sustainable drowning interventions in Asia
The International Drowning Research Centre – Bangladesh (IDRC-B) was officially launched on Wednesday 4 August 2010 in Dhaka with over 200 people attending the launch ceremony.
The centre, based in Dhaka, is the first of its kind anywhere in the world and will carry out research to develop effective and sustainable drowning interventions that are appropriate for Bangladesh and countries with similar social, cultural and risk environments, especially neighbouring countries across Asia.
The IDRC-B is coordinated by the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) along with its partners the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia (RLSSA), The Alliance for Safe Children (TASC) and supported the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
The State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury was chief guest of the launching ceremony and spoke about how a greater awareness is needed around such tragic deaths amongst children and research focusing on action and results could be the key to reducing the child drowning rate.
Also on hand to launch the centre were special guests MD Ishaque Hosain Talukder MP, Dr Justin Lee – Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Serguei Diordista of WHO, Carel de Rooy of UNICEF, as well as representatives of RLSSA, TASC and CIPRB.
Water familiarisation in one of Danang's 10 portable pools
The SwimSafe Danang summer 2010 program is well underway with survival swimming classes in progress at 13 venues across the seven districts of Danang province, Vietnam. Now in its second year, SwimSafe aims to reach an additional 5,000 students aged 6-11 over the course of the summer and in after school programs.
In a necessary bid to reduce child drowning rates in Vietnam, these students will learn the basics of survival swimming and safe rescue techniques, including CPR for those over 10 years.
The 10 primary schools participating in the SwimSafe program in 2010 each have a SwimSafe portable pool onsite. These schools are:
Be Van Dan – Thanh Khe district
Nguyen Ngoc Hue – Thanh Khe district
Nui Thanh – Hai Chau district
Le Thanh Ton – Hai Chau district
Ngo Gia Tu – Son Tra district
Hoang Du Khuong – Cam Le district
Phan Phu Tien – Lien Chieu district
Tran Quang Dieu – Ngu Han Son district
Hoa Tien – Hoa Vang district
Hoa Khuong 2 – Hoa Vang district
SwimSafe Da Nang also utilizes an in-ground swimming pool at the city’s rehabilitation hospital as well as teaching in a natural water environment at two beaches is Son Tra and Thanh Khe districts.
Many of the portable pool sites have been renovated this year, with sturdier shades following last year’s typhoon at the end of the SwimSafe season.
Prior to classes getting started, all 120 swim instructors attended training and refresher workshops to update them on the revisions to the SwimSafe curriculum. The Training of Trainers (TOT) model employed by SwimSafe Danang has proved very successful, with the core group of 22 teachers who participated in a training workshop led by an expert Royal Life Saving Society – Australia trainer then going on to bring the remainder of their colleagues up to speed.
In fact, the successes and profile of SwimSafe Danang thus far mean that come July 2010, around 20 trainees from other Vietnamese provinces will come to Danang to participate in a SwimSafe TOT session, again led by the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia and the core group of Danang trainers. This workshop is a precursor to the roll out of survival swimming classes elsewhere in Vietnam, with SwimSafe Danang as the pilot model.
The Winter 2009 issue of the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh newsletter is now in circulation. View the newsletter here to find out the latest in drowning and injury prevention in Bangladesh.
