New evidence-based manual: First Aid and Safety for Aquatic Environments
15/07/26
25th July marks World Drowning Prevention Day, a crucial day to raise awareness on drowning as a major public health issue. While drowning mortality rates decrease, progress remains uneven: in Europe, the rate has dropped by 68% since 2000, but in Africa – where the highest rates are recorded – the rate has dropped by only 3%.
The First Aid and Safety for Aquatic Environments (FASAE) manual by the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders (BRC-F) addresses this gap by focusing on prevention and first aid in and around aquatic environments in low-income settings. Over the course of 1.5 years, the manual was developed using our established evidence-based approach, consisting of:
- Local surveys in fishing villages in Mozambique to map the needs of resource-limited coastal communities that rely on the sea or freshwater sources for their income and daily livelihood;
- Scientific research by CEBaP aimed at answering more than 50 research questions arising from the identified needs (*);
- Practical input from an international panel of experts, including a virtual meeting and a face-to-face expert panel meeting in Maputo, Mozambique, hosted by the Mozambican Red Cross (Cruz Vermelha de Moçambique, CVM).
- Translation of scientific information into concrete recommendations for laypeople, compiled in the final manual.
The manual serves as a comprehensive reference guide for first aid providers in aquatic environments in Sub-Saharan Africa and is currently being used in a collaborative Training-of-Trainers program between BRC-F and CVM. Experienced first aid instructors train national Red Cross/Red Crescent societies, so that they, in turn, can train local first aid providers.
You can request a free copy of the manual in English or Portuguese here.
(*) One of these research questions – on basic swimming and water safety skills training for drowning prevention – was developed into a full systematic review.
