Plaid Cymru has pledged to offer free swimming lessons for primary school children in Wales.
The party says it will introduce a national water safety programme as part of its "new and transformative" health agenda, with less than a year to go before the next Senedd elections.
Plans to give at least 20 swimming lessons to every pupil in Years 4 and 5 were officially unveiled at Barry Island on Monday.
Plaid said children and young people in Wales were not being given the chance to learn how to swim
According to figures published last year, 35% of young children (aged 3-6) in Wales were able to swim, and just 16% in the Cardiff area alone.
Around 57% of schools around the Welsh capital sent their children to swimming lessons during the 2022-23 academic year.
Heledd Fychan, Plaid's spokesperson for sport, said: "Teaching our young people how to swim and be safe in and around water is a necessity, not a nice to have."
"That is one of the many reasons why a Plaid Cymru government will invest in our children's safety by providing free swimming lessons."
The South Wales Central MS added: "By giving children the opportunity to learn to swim, we will also actively encourage children to be healthier – which is all a part of our commitment to a new and transformative agenda for public health in Wales."
18 people in Wales died as a result of drowning last year - a situation which Ms Fychan says "cannot continue".
Plaid insists its new policy will not only save lives and encourage children to live more active lives, but also treat the "root causes" of physical and mental illness rather than just the symptoms.
Swim Wales, the national governing body for aquatics, said it welcomed Plaid's pledge after years of campaigning for school swimming.
Chief executive Fergus Feeney said: "Being able to swim is a life skill that every Welsh child deserves to have...without urgent action, tens of thousands of Welsh children every year could leave primary school unable to stay safe in, on, or around water."
"By having a universal school swimming offer, we can ensure that Welsh children from all backgrounds have the same opportunity to acquire a life skill, to develop their confidence and begin their journey of lifelong physical activity."
"This would mean that Wales would be the first home nation to have a national programme of this significance in place."
Recent opinion polls have put Plaid Cymru in a two-horse race with Reform UK ahead of next May's elections, which will see the introduction of larger 'super' constituencies with multiple members and a new voting system.
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