BU Research Blog

Last week two members of our SONAMONI team attended the 2026 UN (United Nations) High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the UN Headquarters in New York. This Forum focuses on transformative, equitable and innovative action to support delivery of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure being one of the SDGs under review in 2026.

SONAMONI project partner, Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) co-hosted a roundtable discussion on “Partnering for transformative, equitable & innovative action on drowning prevention” with the Mission for Bangladesh and the Mission for Ireland. Bournemouth University’s John Powell, who has a joint position in the School of Computing & Engineering at BU and the RNLI, presented the innovative approaches of our SONAMONI study on drowning prevention for rural children under two in Bangladesh. John stressed the multi-faceted nature of our the intervention design process, the importance of working closely with communities, and highlighted two of the interventions developed by the project: a playpen for toddlers under the age of two, and a household risk assessment that caregivers can complete to identify and address drowning risks in and around their home.

Our second colleague Dr. Becky Sindall, Senior International Advocacy Manager at the RNLI, helped to coordinate the event. Becky commented that: “There was considerable interest in the SONAMONI project from the Member States and UN organisations in the room. The Bangladeshi ambassador commented that the work would have a positive impact on the lives of women and children in rural Bangladesh.”  She added that at least one other representative of a Member State  was keen to understand how the research approach could be adopted and applied to drowning prevention issues in their own country.

The High-Level Political Forum event closed with a call to action for everyone to commemorate World Drowning Prevention Day on 25th July by raising awareness about drowning as a preventable public health issue and promoting global water safety. As part of this commemoration, the World Health Organization (WHO) will be hosting a free webinar at midday on 28th July, for details click here!

The SONAMONI project is an interdisciplinary collaboration between Bournemouth University, CIPRB (Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh), the University of the West of England, the University of Southampton, the RNLI and Design Without Borders (Uganda). This large interdisciplinary project runs until the end of February 2027. This £1.6m project has been made possible thanks to a UK grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) through its Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Co-PI SONAMONI project

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health