Govt constructs five water rescue centres
Okao said poor supervision of young children and unprotected wells are also causing a lot of deaths by drowning.
Robert Ntambi (extreme Left), the commissioner Maritime Administration at the works ministry makes submissions as other panellists listen in. This was during a stakeholder’s breakfast meeting on the burden of drowning in Uganda at Serena Hotel Kampala on December 3, 2024. (Credit: Lawrence Mulondo)
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Robert Ntambi, the commissioner Maritime Administration at the Ministry of Works and Transport remarks during a stakeholder’s breakfast meeting on the burden of drowning in Uganda at Serena Hotel Kampala on December 3, 2024. (Credit: Lawrence Mulondo) (L-R) Siraje Ahmed Wafula of the Uganda Metelogical Authority interacts with Commissioner of Police Eng. Sulaiman Kirungi, the Commandant Maritime Police and Capt. Gordon Musinguzi of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces Fisheries Unit. This was during a stakeholder’s breakfast meeting on the burden of drowning in Uganda at Serena Hotel Kampala on December 3, 2024. (Credit: Lawrence Mulondo)
In a bid to reduce the rising drowning cases, the Government, through the works ministry, has constructed five search and rescue centres countrywide to provide critical support in distressed areas.
Robert Ntambi, the commissioner of the maritime administration at the ministry, says the centres, strategically located in high-risk areas, are to be equipped with modern facilities, including rescue boats, firefighting boat life jackets, and first aid equipment.
“Each centre is staffed by trained personnel, including lifeguards, paramedics, and emergency response experts, who are ready to respond to emergencies 24/7,” Ntambi said.
The commissioner made the remarks during the stakeholder’s breakfast meeting on the burden of drowning in Uganda at the Serena Hotel in Kampala recently.
He explained that the centres ready to start operations are part of the nine planned search and rescue centers that the Government started putting up in 2018, under the Maritime Lake Victoria Communication and Transport project with funding from the African Development Bank.
Ntambi said the project covers lakes Victoria, Albert and Kyoga. On Lake Victoria, the centres are at Kaazi and Masese; on Lake Kyoga at Zengebe; and on Lake Albert at Kaiso and Panyimol.
“The centres will give the water transport users early warning information in case of expected severe changes in weather, and this will always be disseminated in advance,” he said.
Currently, there is an emergency call centre in place at Entebbe under the number 110 for assistance as requested; however, it is limited due to the absence of rescue boats yet to be procured.
Ntambi said when the current call centre is called, it alerts nearby teams to run and rescue people in distress.
“We are also still understaffed as a department, but we are soon getting more staff, and we thank the marine police for being present where we are not.”
The commissioner said they have also started taking serious investigation of marine accidents, especially those that involve fatalities.
He said the purpose of the investigation is not to look for who is in the wrong and take them to prison but to get safety recommendations to minimize the reoccurrence of such accidents.
Statistics
Out of the 241,559 sq km of Uganda’s total land area, 37,000 sq km is occupied by open water.
In 2023, the Police rescued 323 people who were drowning, of which 265 (80%) were adult males, as these are the most involved in water.
Two people of the 323 were juvenile males. Fifty-five were adult females, while only one was a juvenile female.
In the same year, 2023, Police registered 243 people who died by drowning, of which 217 were adult males and 12 were juvenile males. Eleven of the 243 were adult females, while three were juvenile females.
Globally, 2.5 million people are lost to drowning every year, with 90% of the drowning deaths happening in low- and middle-income countries like Uganda.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO) global health estimates data of 2019, drowning led to over 35,000 deaths for children between the ages of five and fourteen, making it the number one cause of death, higher than malaria, measles, malnutrition, and other disease burdens.
Causes/risk factors
Commissioner of Police Eng. Sulaiman Kirungi, the Commandant Maritime Police, said the information they get is basically on the big waters like lakes, rivers, ponds, and swimming pools.
Kirungi said drowning is majorly as a result of the activities that take place on the water, including fishing and transport.
He added that the major causes of drowning, include bad weather, unworthy sea vessels, engine failures, dangerous loading and lack of safety gear like life jackets.
Others are alcohol and drug abuse by both operators and passengers, flooding and man overboard, where one falls off a boat and drowns.
The engineer said Uganda has novice boat operators fuelled by the current lack of a marine training institute where local people can train in coxswaining and boat navigation.
Kirungi said currently, there are limited water regulations in the country limiting security from prosecuting offenders.
“As security, we get cases on water, but when we go to legal courts, we lose out due to lack of regulations,” he added.
The officer called for speedy operationalization of the Maritime Act and the formulation of regulations to handle and prosecute offenders in the sector.
He further called for efforts to skill locals on administering first aid when there is an incidence of drowning, especially after a person is rescued from the water to save life.
Kirungi urged those in distress on water to call the marine police toll-free line 0800 200 113.
Jackie Okao, the country co-ordinator for the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), indicated that some of the other risk factors for drowning also include bathing and collecting of water, which she said are common for people in rural areas near water bodies.
Okao said poor supervision of young children and unprotected wells are also causing a lot of deaths by drowning.
She, however, said in Uganda, drowning prevention still remains one of the complex issues due to the lack of accurate information on drowning cases.
“There is no one single source of reporting on drowning in Uganda, with the one available being close to just estimates,” she said.
What needs to be done
Okao called for intensified awareness of drowning prevention through strategic communication in local communities to minimize risk factors.
She also called for safe spaces, like daycare centers for children, to stop them from loitering and ending up in dams and unprotected wells.
For areas with open access to water, Okao recommended installation of barriers to control and prevent people from falling in.
She also called for teaching swimming survival skills to children and training by standards on safe rescue where there are water accidents.
“There is a need to build resilience, managing floods and other hazards locally on top of setting and enforcing safe boating, ferrying, and shipping regulations,” she noted.
Edward Walugembe, the commissioner of strategic co-ordination and implementation in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), said as the country pushes for agribusiness, there is a need to engage the agriculture ministry in ensuring the safety of people as they move away from rain-fed agriculture to irrigation.
“Many people have dug dams; however, the line ministry needs to ensure that there are safety precautions to avoid drowning instances in the neighborhood,” he noted.
He said the OPM always comes in to break the silos and ensure that there is connectedness, continuity, and communication amongst various players to ensure the safety of the people.
Other stakeholders
Dr Frederick Oporia, the head of the trauma, injuries and disability (TRIAD) unit at Makerere University School of Public Health, raised concern over substandard maritime protective gear like life jackets on the market.
“In our recent research, we tested life jackets on Lake Victoria, and many sank after six hours, yet these have to keep one afloat as long as all factors are kept constant,” he explained.
Oporia, however, said even if a life jacket can keep one afloat for two hours, it's still better than nothing and therefore encouraged people to always wear one while using water transport as standards are worked on.
He said in their research they found out that most of the boats on Ugandan lakes are not seaworthy; however, he thanked the government that the maritime department has set standards for this.
The expert said their research also revealed that every year, 2,995 people drown, translating to about eight people drowning daily, and many of these are not reported to the Police.
National Curriculum Development Centre director Grace Baguma expressed the need to address drowning through the curriculum.
She said children need to grow up knowing that swimming should be a part of their life skills, and now it can prevent them from drowning.
“We need to sit as stakeholders and see how to achieve a behaviour and attitude change in the children so that as they grow up, right from nursery, they have skills on how to survive on water,” she said.
Edida Businge, an official of the Ministry of Local Governments, should constantly be involved in the fight against drowning, adding that it is an MDA that has structures that go from the central level to the ground level.
“As a ministry, we have leaders at all levels who should be at the forefront of fighting for anything that has been a danger to the community,” she stated.