Ghana will, on Tuesday, April 14, officially launch a national lifeguarding programme aimed at drastically reducing the number of drowning fatalities recorded across the country each year. With an estimated 1,400 people losing their lives to drowning annually, authorities and health researchers say the time for structured, nationwide intervention is long overdue.
The programme, known as the Lifeguarding Initiative for Drowning Prevention in Ghana, is a joint effort between the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit (JH-IIRU), and the National Coordination Board for Drowning Prevention. Bloomberg Philanthropies is providing financial backing for the initiative. Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak will be present at the launch, which is being held under the theme; “Drowning Prevention as a Public Safety and National Security Priority: The Critical Role of Lifeguarding.”
Drowning incidents in Ghana occur across a wide range of settings from beaches and rivers to swimming pools and domestic water sources. Young people, particularly children and adolescents, bear a disproportionate share of the burden, according to research tied to the initiative.
For years, drowning has occupied little space in Ghana’s national public health conversation despite the alarming frequency with which it claims lives. Data gathered during the initiative’s first phase, launched in 2021 with a concentration on training Ghana National Fire Service personnel in water rescue, placed the annual drowning death toll at over 1,360 a figure that researchers say is likely an undercount given gaps in incident reporting across the country.
The problem is most concentrated in Accra. The fatal drowning rate in the Accra Metropolitan Area is more than twice the national average, with beach swimming alone responsible for over 70 percent of all coastal drowning deaths recorded in the region. Experts say the high volume of unregulated swimming activity along the capital’s coastline, combined with the absence of trained lifeguards at most beaches, has created conditions where deaths are both frequent and largely preventable.
To address this, the initiative takes a prevention-centred approach that prioritises stopping drowning incidents before they happen. Trained lifeguard deployment, the establishment of designated safer swimming areas, strengthened emergency response systems, and broad public awareness campaigns form the core pillars of the programme’s strategy.
Pilot training sessions for lifeguards have already taken place in identified high-risk coastal communities within the Greater Accra Region. Participants received instruction in open water rescue, CPR, first aid administration, hazard identification, and the proper documentation of water-related incidents, according to programme organisers.
Institutions and Icons Unite Behind the Cause
Delivering the programme at scale will require coordination across a wide network of institutions. The initiative is working directly with the La Dade Kotopon, Korle Klottey, and Krowor Municipal Assemblies, and has secured the involvement of the National Ambulance Service, the Ghana Navy, the Ghana Maritime Authority, the Ghana Tourism Authority, the Ghana Police Service, and the National Disaster Management Organisation.
Professor Emmanuel Nakua, the initiative’s local Principal Investigator and a faculty member at the KNUST School of Public Health, outlined four key priorities for the programme placing certified lifeguards at beaches with the highest drowning risk, improving coordination among emergency response agencies, enforcing existing water safety regulations more consistently, and broadening public education efforts to reach communities nationwide.
Ghanaian football icon Asamoah Gyan added his voice to the campaign, appealing to the public to take the initiative seriously.
“Every life matters. No family should have to go through the pain of losing a loved one to something that can be prevented. This lifeguard intervention is not just important, it is necessary. It will save lives.”
Asamoah Gyan
Professor Abdulgafoor Bachani, global Principal Investigator and Director of JH-IIRU, is scheduled to participate in a televised public engagement today, April 13, a day before the formal launch, to speak directly to Ghanaians about water safety practices and the risks associated with unguarded swimming environments.
The initiative is also timed to build momentum toward World Drowning Prevention Day, marked globally on July 25 each year, reinforcing Ghana’s commitment to contributing meaningfully to international efforts to eliminate preventable water-related deaths.
