HÀ NỘI — The National Sports Administration will cooperate with the Ministry of Education and local communities to implement a project on safe swimming aimed at protecting children from drowning.

The programme will include different activities in all 63 cities and provinces across the country from this month to August under the sponsorship of Nestle Milo.

“Thousands of children die from downing every year. The number was some 2,000 in 2017. The main reason is their inability to swim. Less than 30 per cent of Vietnamese children know swimming. This is alarming, so we decided to solve the problem this year,” said Nguyễn Ngọc Anh, head of the Administration’s Amateur Sports Department, which will be in charge of the programme.

According to Anh, the Administration has been working closely with different agencies to produce documents, brochures, leaflets, videos and clips and game shows specialising in safe swimming.

Experts have been sent to localities to improve the swimming skills of native teachers, rescuers and staffs.

A national swimming competition for children and students will be organised in July in Đà Nẵng. A contest for rescuers will also be held in Đồng Tháp province in August. These two activities are aimed at encouraging people to get involved in the project.

“Hundred per cent of the cities and provinces have pledged to take part in the programme as they recognise its importance, especially as it is summer now, a time for storms and floods. We have set a target of reducing the number of deaths by drowning compared to last year,” Anh said.

An official ceremony to launch the programme will be organised in Ninh Bình Province on May 20. — VNS