The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with partners, announced these notable results at the "Conference on Handover of Results for the Child Drowning Prevention Project, 2018–2025 Phase" held on 11/3 in Hanoi. From 2018 to March 2026, Bloomberg Philanthropies and local authorities partnered to offer safe swimming classes to over 400,000 children. Specifically, funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies directly supported more than 75,000 students, while matching budgets from provinces and cities helped over 334,000 other children access the courses. Additionally, experts trained more than 52,000 youth in water safety skills.

Students who learned to swim through the safe swimming program attended the conference. Photo: Tue Minh

Initially, the project management focused on 8 provinces with high rates of water-related accidents, later expanding the network to 17 localities, including Da Nang, Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri, and Lao Cai. To achieve its goals, authorities trained and certified over 1,500 swimming instructors and provided professional training to approximately 2,250 community officers. Local sports and education sectors also installed 14 mobile swimming pools in disadvantaged areas, while mobilizing over 150 existing pools for teaching. These efforts tripled the percentage of children who can swim in participating provinces, soaring from 15% to 46%. Leaders at all levels contributed approximately 7,1 million USD in matching funds to develop infrastructure.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Tri Thuc assessed that evidence-based interventions are yielding positive impacts. He emphasized that strong mobilization of local resources, coupled with the support of international organizations, successfully transformed Vietnam's approach from a project model to a sustainable national program.

Kelly Larson, a representative from Bloomberg Philanthropies, noted that Vietnam possesses many favorable conditions to continue expanding the program, making this strategy a reference model for many countries.

Sharing this view, Yolonda Richardson, President of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, affirmed that investing in swimming education offers immense humanitarian value. For a cost of just 30 USD, each child gains the skills to protect their own life from the danger of drowning.

According to the Ministry of Health, drowning claims the lives of approximately 1,800 Vietnamese children each year, making it the leading cause of injury-related death in children under 16. The economic damage from drowning is estimated at about 617 million USD annually, encompassing direct medical costs and long-term social impacts.

Le Nga