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　　WHO: Drowning Among Top Causes of Death inChildren

　　From VOA Learning English, this is the Healthand Lifestyle report.

　　The World Health Organization (WHO) says drowningis among the top five causes of death for childrenunder the age of 15.

　　The United Nations agency also found that boys and girls living near open water sources, suchas ponds and irrigation ditches, are especially at risk.

　　How serious is the problem in Asia?

　　Other studies have shown that, on average, drownings kill at least one child every 15 minutessomewhere in Asia.

　　Children in Asia are especially at risk in extreme heat during the summer and during themonsoon or rainy season.

　　Monsoon rains have already begun in western Asia. Heavy rains in Pakistan recently were blamedfor killing around 100 people, including women and children.

　　The Asia-based group Alliance for Safe Children says drowning rates in developing countries are10 to 20 times higher than those in developed countries.

　　The Alliance's survey found that Bangladesh has the highest rates of child drownings: almost17,000 a year.

　　Vietnam followed Bangladesh with more than 11,500 child drownings a year. In Thailand, about2,600 children drown each year.

　　Thailand's Disease Control Department recently reported that more than 10,000 childrendrowned from 2006 to 2015. That number represents a rate of 10 drownings a day.

　　In China, information for most provinces is not available. But in Jiangxi province alone, theAlliance discovered evidence of more than 4,600 child drownings a year. That is also a rate of10 deaths every day.

　　What can help?

　　Bill Kirby of Australia won a gold medal as a swimmer in the 2000 Olympics. He now leadsswimming classes and training programs in Asia, mainly in Indonesia and Malaysia.

　　Kirby told VOA that governments and swimming organizations can work together to campaignfor improved water safety.

　　"One of the first steps is actually to create a national body that looks after water safety,whether it be like [Australia's] Royal Life Saving or a Swim Australia or whatever it is -- that canactually get a lot of stakeholders together, get some government funding and promote watersafety."

　　Kirby adds that swimming associations in Asia need to be better organized.

　　"I think, one of the things with the Asian countries, they're still yet to be as organized as theswimming associations or swimming bodies are like in the Western world, which probably hadmore time to be organized and have had government funding and they see the importance ofit."

　　He adds that this is especially important in areas that experience what he calls "massive"flooding. He uses the word downpour to mean heavy rainfall.

　　"Massive flooding whether it's in Pakistan at the moment or I know in [the Indonesian capital of]Jakarta every year or every two years, they have such big floodings where all the waste goesinto the waterways and they have a massive downpour and it floods, creating moreopportunity for kids to drown."

　　Officials in Thailand have called on parents to teach children how to swim. They are also askingparents to keep a close watch on their children, especially during what they call the "risky"period: between the middle of the day and sunset.

　　The World Health Organization and others are urging countries to push for water safety andsurvival skills.

　　The WHO says measures should include:

　　making barriers to control access to water;

　　providing safe childcare for very young children away from water sources;

　　teaching water safety and rescue skills.

　　The WHO adds that governments need to guarantee safe boating and rules for passengerboat services. It warns that governments also need to improve flood risk management.

　　I'm Anna Matteo.