A Wiltshire-based water safety charity is backing this year’s World Drowning Prevention Day campaign, urging people to play their part in reducing the number of lives lost in the water each year.
SwimTayka, which is headquartered in Wiltshire and works with communities around the world, is supporting the World Health Organization’s 2026 campaign, Unite to Turn the Tide, highlighting the importance of collective action to prevent drowning.
Although the global drowning death rate has fallen by 38 per cent since 2000, more than 300,000 people still lose their lives to drowning every year.
SwimTayka founder Bryan Avery said the progress made over the past two decades was encouraging, but there was still much more to do.
“A 38 per cent drop in drowning deaths is a fantastic milestone, but 300,000 lives lost every year is still far too high,” he said.
“This World Drowning Prevention Day, we want to highlight that water safety belongs to everyone. By working closely with local communities to teach life-saving swimming skills, we see firsthand how collective action saves lives. We are proud to support this campaign and help turn the tide.”
The international campaign encourages everyone to recognise the role they can play in improving water safety, from parents and teachers to employers, policymakers and local communities.
Mr Avery said preventing drowning requires action at every level.
“In communities, this means fostering grassroots awareness and securing open water sources. In education, it involves integrating vital water survival programmes into local school curricula.
“For workplaces and regulators, it requires implementing safer infrastructure and enforcing strict safety regulations. At home, it means ensuring parents and caregivers have access to swimming and water safety lessons for children.”
SwimTayka delivers free swimming lessons and environmental education programmes both in the UK and overseas, working alongside local organisations to teach children essential water safety and survival skills.
The charity says its work reflects the campaign’s central message that preventing drowning is a shared responsibility and that education remains one of the most effective ways to save lives.
World Drowning Prevention Day takes place annually on July 25 to raise awareness of one of the world’s leading causes of accidental death and to promote practical measures that help keep people safe in and around water.
