World Drowning Prevention Day is recognised annually on 25 July and highlights the importance of preventing drowning through education, awareness and action. While drowning remains a global issue affecting communities around the world, it is preventable.

To mark the day, MEPAU’s GM Corporate Affairs, Dr Vicky Absalom-Hornby, and Communications Coordinator, Tenielle Nair, joined the Royal Life Saving Western Australia for their annual World Drowning Prevention Day Breakfast along with many other sponsors and partners who are committed to creating safer communities across Western Australia (WA).

This year’s event featured an inspiring panel of speakers who shared their expertise and lived experiences in drowning prevention, including Colin Hassell OAM, Royal Life Saving WA Life Member and long-serving lifesaving volunteer, Ciara Galega, a member of the Royal Life Saving WA Disability Steering Committee, and Zainab Hummed, Community Development Officer at ASeTTS, who highlighted the importance of water safety education for refugees settling in WA.

MEPAU and Beach Energy, the Waitsia Joint Venture, recently renewed their Mid West partnership with Royal Life Saving WA for a further three years, after starting the successful program two years ago to deliver essential water safety education programs for Mid West families. Over the next three years, more than 2,100 vulnerable children in the Shires of Irwin, Coorow, Carnamah, and the City of Greater Geraldton will be provided with water safety classes and have access to subsidised Swim and Survive programs, building the confidence and skills needed to stay safe in and around water.

Over the last decade, the Mid West region has consistently recorded the second-highest drowning rate in WA, reflecting the significant need for these programs. Regional children are 3.3 times more likely to drown than those in metropolitan areas, and the Waitsia Joint Venture is committed to addressing that gap.

MEPAU is proud to support initiatives that provide children and families with vital water safety skills, helping to build safer, stronger and more resilient communities. Through its education and outreach programs, Royal Life Saving WA continues to make a meaningful difference throughout the state.