This Friday, July 25 2025, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) joins communities across South Africa and around the globe in observing World Drowning Prevention Day, a United Nations and World Health Organisation (WHO) designated day of awareness, remembrance, and action.
Each year, drowning tragically claims over 236,000 lives worldwide. It remains one of the top 10 causes of death for children aged 5 to 14.
On this important day, the NSRI urges all South Africans, from individuals and families to swim schools and community groups, to join us in raising awareness and promoting water safety practices.
Here’s how you can get involved:
-
Go blue to show your support: Wear blue or host a blue-themed day or event.
-
Share your story: Drowning can be prevented through shared experiences. Tell your story – post on social media and tag #DrowningPrevention, #WorldDrowningPreventionDay, and @NSRI.
What can you do to prevent drowning?
Learn to swim: Equip yourself and your children with swimming skills. Swimming lessons save lives.
Supervise children: Always keep a close eye on children near water.
Never leave children unattended, even for a moment.
No alcohol near water: Avoid drinking alcohol when around water.
Stay sharp and vigilant.
Be aware of surroundings: Always check weather and water conditions before swimming or boating. Stay informed and safe.
Use safety equipment: Ensure lifejackets are available and used correctly when boating. Access to safety gear can make a crucial difference.
Learn CPR: Knowing how to do CPR can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency. Be prepared to act.
Water safety education campaign
The NSRI’s Water Safety Education campaign has since 2006 educated an impressive 5,580,399 individuals in water safety, with 877,485 people trained in 2024 alone. This programme provides vital knowledge on how to stay safe near water, how to assist someone in danger of drowning without putting oneself at risk, and how to perform bystander CPR. By focusing on young audiences, the NSRI fosters a culture of water safety from an early age
Pink Rescue Buoy project
Since 2017, the NSRI has installed over 1800 bright Pink Rescue Buoys in high-risk drowning areas across South Africa. These buoys offer immediate aid to swimmers in trouble, greatly enhancing their chances of survival. To date, the Pink Rescue Buoy project has directly helped save 221 lives. Each buoy and its stand costs R2,000, and the NSRI depends on community support and donations to maintain this life-saving programme.
Survival Swimming Programme
The NSRI’s Survival Swimming Programme, launched in 2019, aims to reduce the high rate of drowning, especially among children in underserved communities. It teaches vital water survival skills, including breath control, orientation, floating, and propulsion. The sessions are free, last for 20 minutes, and are delivered by qualified instructors who follow international standards and undergo annual evaluations.
The NSRI has established several Survival Swimming Centres across the country. These are innovative mobile units made from converted shipping containers equipped with heated indoor pools in areas with limited access to safe swimming facilities. The programme extends to public pools in Cape Town, George, and Durban. The NSRI has conducted over 60,000 lessons, with more than 25,000 in 2024 alone.
Community involvement and support
The organisation encourages schools and clubs to invite them for safety presentations. It also urges individuals to consider volunteering, such as becoming Survival Swimming instructors, Pink Rescue Buoy volunteers, Beach Safety Camera volunteers, or volunteering at the nearest NSRI station. Public participation and donations are essential, with each water safety lesson costing just R12 per child, while a Survival Swimming lesson costs R76. The average child needs eight lessons to master all four survival swimming skills, costing a total of R608 to teach a child to survive in water.
We’ve shortened the links to some resources:
Videos on the NSRI YouTube channel that relate to water safety and can be used on World Drowning Prevention Day:
A child saves a life using CPR: https://bit.ly/NSRIDrowningPrevention_1
Learning from Tragedy: https://bit.ly/NSRIDrowningPrevention_2
The rescue of Darren Sutton: https://bit.ly/NSRIDrowningPrevention_3
Photographs are available on the NSRI’s Flickr page:
Survival Swimming: https://bit.ly/TOTTNSRISurvival_1
Pink Rescue Buoys: https://bit.ly/TOTTNSRIPinkRescue_1
Water Safety Education: https://bit.ly/TOTTNSRIWaterSafety
In South Africa, too many families suffer the devastating impact of losing loved ones to preventable drowning incidents. With more than 3,000 kilometres of coastline, countless rivers, lakes, and dams, South Africa faces unique water safety challenges.
“This is not just a statistic; it’s a call to action,” says Mike Vonk, NSRI CEO. “World Drowning Prevention Day reminds us that while anyone can drown, no one should.”
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, July 24, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
