PALS is a non-profit organization that established Pakistan's first coastal lifeguard service in Karachi in 2003. Prior to 2004, over 250 people were drowning on Karachi beaches every year. PALS now employs 150 professional lifeguards who patrol 20 beaches, providing open-water rescues, first aid, and drowning prevention education. In its first few years of operation, PALS performed over 1,100 rescues and saw coastal drownings drop significantly. The organization aims to expand services and establish national drowning prevention initiatives and training programs.

1. Jonathon Webber RN BHSc DipMgt CertAmb Senior Advisor (Lifesaving) Pakistan Aquatic Life Saving | PALS Lifeguards Establishment of Coastal Lifeguard Services in Pakistan: THE PALS EXPERIENCE

2. Acknowledgements

3. Demographics Coastline and Beaches Profile and History Service Overview Achievements Future Plans Presentation Content

4. Pakistan

5. Karachi: The home of PALS Largest city in Pakistan Sixth most populous city in the world Population estimated >15,000,000 Over 2,000,000 visitors; 40km of coastline

6. Coastline and Beaches

11. Global Burden of Drowning WHO estimate over 97% of unintentional drownings occur in low to middle income countries The actual burden of fatal and non-fatal drowning is unknown, due to inaccurate data collection

12. Local Burden of Drowning OVER 250 PEOPLE DROWNED ON KARACHI BEACHES EVERY YEAR PRIOR TO JUNE 2004

13. Organisation Profile PALS is a division of Critical Mass Social Welfare Organisation; a registered NGO Formed in 2003 with the intent of: Achieving a near-zero drowning rate, and Alleviating poverty in coastal communities Currently employs 150 full and part-time professional lifeguards Funded entirely from sponsorship and donations

14. Structure of PALS

15. Partners Pakistan Navy CDGK: City District Government Karachi Surf Life Saving Northern Region (New Zealand)

16. History of PALS

18. 150 Surf Lifeguard Awards and Surf Life Saving Certificates 56 SURF LIFEGUARD AWARDS, PLUS 45 SURF LIFE SAVING CERTIFICATES

19. Service Overview Patrol Sunday (some beaches 7-day service) Patrol hours 1000 – 1945 Open-beach, flagged area and tower lifeguard systems Roving Patrols PALS Ambulance

20. Patrol Locations 20 Patrolling Areas Each Area has 1 Supervisor and 8-15 Lifeguards Supervisors report to 6 Patrol Captains Rescue equipment located at all locations

26. Achievements 2004-2007 Operational Community Uplift Sponsorship Media Awareness Surf Sports Disaster Relief

27. Lifeguard Operations Year Rescues Preventive Actions First Aids Searches 2004* 233 67,845 346 20 2005 428 88,545 788 78 2006 441 93,253 682 64 TOTAL 1,102 249,643 1,816 162 Coastal Drownings (Karachi) 2004* 1 2005 13 2006 17

28. Public Education

30. Community Uplift Regular income for 150 impoverished families Free accident insurance for staff PALS Lifeguards are highly respected and valued by the community PALS Ambulance provides prompt transport to the city

31. Sponsorship No corporate culture of sponsorship in Pakistan Fear of adverse events being linked to sponsor Sale of naming rights to individual beaches Grass Roots Assistance from foreign embassies Individual donations

35. Media Awareness Regular coverage in Dawn, The News, Daily Times, Business Recorder Television documentaries by GEO TV, Business Plus Weekly radio coverage on sea condition during the monsoon season Membership of the Pakistan Press Foundation public safety panel

36. National Lifeguard Championships Inaugural event held on 18 August 2006 70 competitors Events contested: Beach Flags Beach Sprints Surf Race Tube Rescue

42. Disaster Relief Monsoon flooding in June killed 228 people, injured 200+ and left thousands displaced or cut-off Collapsed structures, traffic crashes and electrocution were the major cause of death and injury PALS Lifeguards were the lead disaster relief agency in the coastal areas of Karachi

50. Future Plans Introduce school-based education programmes Establish a national drowning database Train lifeguards for the Middle East Expansion of services (an additional 100 staff required in 3-5yrs) Full Membership of ILS

51. Assistance Required Refresher Training Instructor Courses Equipment Donations: Tubes, fins, IRB’s, VHF radios, Quad Bikes Professional and Technical Advice Funding Grants

53. www.cmpals.org