WHO’s PROTECT Strengthens the Role of Basic Swimming and Water Safety Education in Drowning Prevention

WHO's PROTECT strengthens the role of basic swimming and water safety education in drowning prevention. Those who follow the evolution of drowning prevention know that the idea of multiple layers of protection did not emerge just now. For many years, scientific literature and major international organizations have argued that no single intervention is capable of preventing drowning. Supervision, physical barriers, safer environments, legislation, emergency response, education, and swimming instruction have always been part of this framework.

Therefore, the main merit of PROTECT, launched by the World Health Organization (WHO), is not to present a new concept. The name PROTECT is an English acronym created by the WHO to identify its new technical package for drowning prevention. Each letter represents one of the seven strategies that make up this integrated approach. Its greatest contribution is to consolidate the knowledge accumulated over the last decades into a global action plan, organized in a way that clarifies the role each segment of society plays in drowning prevention.

This organization reinforces that preventing drowning is a shared responsibility. Some strategies depend primarily on the government. Others involve the health, education, social assistance, civil defense, and transport systems. And one of them is specifically dedicated to basic swimming and water safety education. This strengthening deserves attention.

A Global Strategy

Basic swimming and water safety education already appeared in previous WHO documents as an important intervention for drowning prevention. In PROTECT, however, it becomes one of the seven strategies that structure the global action proposed by the organization. Naturally, the WHO does not attribute this responsibility exclusively to swimming schools. Basic swimming and water safety education can happen through different paths, such as public programs, social projects, community initiatives, or educational systems. But it is impossible to talk about this strategy without recognizing the role that swimming schools play daily.

This valorization, however, is accompanied by a commitment. The very name of the strategy is quite revealing. The WHO does not speak only of teaching swimming. It speaks of basic swimming and water safety education. The difference is not just semantic. It reinforces that teaching swimming cannot mean just teaching the four strokes or developing motor skills in the pool.

The educational process must also include the aquatic competencies and knowledge necessary for a safer interaction with different aquatic environments. In other words, water safety should not be treated as supplementary content or an occasional class. It needs to be part of the very delivery of the service.

Integrating Swimming and Safety

There is an important difference between teaching swimming and offering basic swimming and water safety education. PROTECT does not treat these two dimensions as separate things. On the contrary. The WHO brings them together in the same strategy, reinforcing that learning to swim and learning to interact with water safely are part of the same educational proposal. This means incorporating, in a planned and progressive manner, content related to risk perception, safe behaviors, decision-making, respecting one's own limits, emergency procedures, and other knowledge compatible with the students' age and development.

This integration is already part of the practice of many schools committed to the quality of teaching. PROTECT reinforces that this integration between learning to swim and water safety is not just a good pedagogical practice. It becomes part of a global drowning prevention strategy recognized by the World Health Organization.

More than a new document, PROTECT tends to become a reference for governments, managers, researchers, and organizations involved in drowning prevention. It is reasonable to expect that its principles will influence public policies, training programs, project financing, and future international recommendations. Understanding this proposal from now on means being prepared for a movement that will likely influence the development of water safety in the coming years.

The Role of Swimming Schools in the PROTECT Strategies

PROTECT does not establish how each institution should act. This interpretation needs to be built from the seven strategies presented by the WHO. In INATI's interpretation, this is the role of swimming schools and similar institutions within the seven PROTECT strategies:

PROTECT Strategy	Role of Education in Swimming Schools and Similar Institutions
P – Infrastructure for safe interaction with water	Supporter. Contributes by providing guidance on safe environments, physical barriers, and risk reduction, but infrastructure, norms, and inspection depend primarily on the State and those responsible for aquatic environments.
R – Rescue and resuscitation capacity	Direct participation. Basic swimming and water safety education programs can prepare professionals for prevention, emergency recognition, safe rescue, first aid, and resuscitation, strengthening response capacity.
O – Occupational safety for working near water	Direct participation. Institutions offering basic swimming and water safety education must maintain safety protocols, risk management, and continuous training for their teams.
T – Transport safety on water	Supporter. Can promote education on safe behaviors and the proper use of life jackets, while regulation and inspection are State responsibilities.
E – Education in basic swimming and water safety	Direct and central participation. It is the strategy where this activity takes a leading role, developing aquatic competencies and promoting water safety as an inseparable part of learning.
C – Child care and protection systems	Supporter. Contributes through supervision protocols, child protection, and family guidance, while protection systems rely primarily on public policies.
T – Threat preparedness for floods and other disasters	Supporter. Can expand preventive education and risk awareness, but planning, monitoring, and response remain responsibilities of governments and Civil Defense.

PROTECT does not change what we already knew about drowning prevention. But it strengthens, organizes, and legitimizes this knowledge into a global action plan. For those working with basic swimming and water safety education, the message is clear: teaching to swim remains essential. Teaching water safety is too. In PROTECT, the World Health Organization now explicitly presents basic swimming and water safety education as one of the seven strategies for drowning prevention.   

INATI Note: The table above represents a technical interpretation developed by INATI based on the World Health Organization's document PROTECT – Seven Strategies to Prevent Drowning. The classification of the roles of basic swimming and water safety education is not part of the original WHO document.   

Reference: World Health Organization. PROTECT: Seven Strategies to Prevent Drowning. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2026.