Bloomberg Philanthropies Is Addressing 'Silent Killer' - Drowning Deaths
There's a reason we've named Michael Bloomberg the "most effective philanthropist" for the past three years straight. The billionaire former mayor of New York City and top mega-giver knows how to get lots of bang for the buck with his global health giving, which focuses on saving lives in poorer countries using tested solutions that have worked in wealthy countries.
We've written often about the massive investments that Bloomberg Philanthropies has made to reduce deaths from smoking and traffic accidents—investments that together are now approaching $1 billion. These are hardly the sexiest issues in global health; you won't find celebrities talking about them, for example. But smoking and traffic accidents kill millions every year—and many of these deaths are preventable with common sense strategies that have long been used here in the United States.
In this same vein, Bloomberg Philanthropies is also ramping up work to reduce drowning deaths—another seemingly mundane health issue, but one that claims a huge toll. It’s estimated that 360,000 people each year die globally by drowning, with 90 percent of those deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Of those deaths, over 60,000 are children under the age of five. There's no statistic that can capture the grief of parents who lose a child, but here's the thing: Deaths by drowning have fallen steadily since the 1970s in the United States, especially for children, thanks to various steps at prevention and education. Why can't the same trend take hold in poorer countries? . . .