Founded in 1891, the Royal Life Saving Society is the Commonwealth drowning prevention organisation. Drowning is one of the biggest causes of preventable death worldwide.
The World Health Organisation estimates 372,000 people drowned in 2012 (WHO Global Report on Drowning – Preventing a Leading Killer). Because of the difficulty in collecting complete data, WHO acknowledges that the actual drowning death toll could be four or five times higher than its estimate. RLSS is a family of lifesaving organisations, active in 27 Commonwealth countries with a common heritage of drowning prevention activities including delivery of water safety education, water rescue and resuscitation training. The Society provides expertise in the development of community-based drowning prevention strategies, the design of lifesaving education programmes and the establishment of aquatic safety standards. RLSS is a registered charity incorporated by Royal Charter with HM the Queen as Patron.