Yen Bai (VNA) – The northern mountainous province of YenBai is working to implement a project to bolster child drowning prevention,said Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids andSocial Affairs Nguyen Thi Thu Ha.

Yen Bai was among eight provinces chosen by the Ministry ofLabour, Invalids and Social Affairs to launch the project, which has beencarried out in the province since April until December this year in the threedistricts of Luc Yen, Yen Binh and Van Yen.

The project, with aid of 3.6 billion VND (about 154,670 USD) from US-basedBloomberg Philanthropies, works to ensurethat 900 children know how to swim and 900 families of children under sixreceive guidance in drowning prevention. It also runs communication activitieson the issue.

In addition, training course to issue swimming and water safety instructorlicenses will be arranged for 80 teachers, while 150 kindergarten teachers and135 collaborators will receive training in drowning prevention skills.

The project comprises three main activities aiming to raise publicawareness of drowning prevention, provide survivalswimming and water safety skills to children aged 6 to 15 years old and enhance effective child supervision for prevention of drowningamong children under five.

Nguyen Thanh Son from the Yen Bai Department of Labour, Invalidsand Social Affairs said that the province records about 20 cases of child deathdue to drowning each year, with most victims between 3 and 8 years old.-VNA