Prevention of Drowning for Under 2-Year-Old Children in Bangladesh

Background

In Bangladesh, drowning is the leading cause of death among children under 2 years old. The risk of drowning in rural areas is twice as high as in cities due to the presence of open water bodies such as ponds, ditches, rivers, and canals. These natural hazards pose a significant risk to young children, while parents and caregivers struggle to balance supervision with daily work and household chores.

Goal

To develop a sustainable, scalable, and affordable intervention to reduce the burden of drowning for newly mobile infants under 2 years old in Bangladesh.

Objectives

• Understand the existing supervision practices for children under 2 years old.
• Identify and prioritize solutions to address gaps in drowning prevention.
• Use Human-Centered Design (HCD) principles to co-develop intervention prototypes.
• Conduct pilot interventions to evaluate effectiveness, adoption, and feasibility.
• Share findings and finalize a sustainable exit strategy.

Location

Partners