A life-saving skill out of reach: The rising cost of learning to swim

By Akhtar Pathan

KARACHI, Pakistan (MNTV) — Every year, drowning claims more than 300,000 lives worldwide, making it one of the leading causes of preventable death. Public health experts say the overwhelming majority of those deaths could be avoided if more people knew how to swim, practiced water safety and were trained to rescue and resuscitate victims.

To highlight that reality, the United Nations observes ‘World Drowning Prevention Day’ every July 25, urging governments, communities and families to recognize drowning as a preventable public health crisis and to invest in life-saving skills that too often remain inaccessible.

For Muslims, the call to protect life carries an additional moral and spiritual dimension.

While virtually every religion and system of ethics regards human life as sacred, Islam places exceptional emphasis on preserving it. The responsibility extends beyond governments and emergency responders to families, communities and individuals, all of whom are expected to take reasonable steps to prevent avoidable deaths.

Learning to swim, therefore, is more than acquiring a practical skill. In Islamic thought, when that knowledge is used to save or protect another person, it becomes an act of worship that carries continuing spiritual reward. Parents, scholars say, should regard teaching their children to swim as part of their broader responsibility to safeguard life.

At the same time, sociologists argue that swimming has gradually shifted from being a widely accessible survival skill to one increasingly shaped by wealth, geography and social inequality.

‘Acquiring life-saving skills is a noble endeavor’

Islamic scholar Irfan Adil says Islam’s view of the sanctity of life is reflected in one of the Quran’s best-known verses.

“Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for spreading corruption in the land, it is as if he has killed all mankind. And whoever saves one, it is as if he has saved all mankind.” (Quran 5:32)

The verse, he says, establishes the immense value Islam places on saving human life. “Any skill through which human life can be protected is a noble endeavor,” Adil says.

He argues that governments carry a responsibility to provide opportunities for citizens to acquire such skills, while parents and individuals have an equally important obligation to ensure that they and their children learn abilities capable of protecting themselves and others.

Islamic tradition, he notes, has long encouraged Muslims to learn swimming, archery and horse riding.

Many contemporary scholars, Adil says, interpret those teachings through the lens of modern society. Archery may now encompass learning to use equipment and technology required for protection and emergency response, while horse riding can reasonably include modern transportation such as driving.

The underlying principle remains unchanged: acquiring practical skills that enable people to protect life during emergencies, disasters and accidents.

‘The Prophet encouraged learning to swim’

According to Adil, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) encouraged Muslims to learn swimming even though many of the earliest Muslim communities had little direct interaction with seas or large bodies of water.

Some scholars, he says, have interpreted that encouragement primarily in terms of physical health and fitness. Today, however, swimming serves purposes that extend far beyond exercise.

Millions of people depend on seas, rivers and lakes for their livelihoods. International commerce still relies heavily on maritime transport. At the same time, floods, storms and other water-related disasters continue to claim thousands of lives every year.

Climate change has only intensified those risks by increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, while rapid urbanization and increasingly sedentary lifestyles have left many people without basic survival skills.

Against that backdrop, Adil says, the Prophet’s guidance appears more relevant than ever.

Learning to swim is not merely a recreational activity or a practical necessity. When undertaken with the sincere intention of protecting others, it becomes an act of virtue that reinforces Islam’s broader emphasis on preserving human life.

He believes those who deliberately neglect opportunities to acquire life-saving skills bear a degree of personal responsibility, while governments share responsibility for ensuring citizens have access to swimming instruction and water safety education.

World Drowning Prevention Day, he says, should serve as a reminder that protecting life requires collective action by individuals, communities and governments alike.

What sociologists say about the decline in swimming

For sociologist Dr. Munazza Madani, associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Karachi, the decline in swimming proficiency has little to do with individual choice.

Instead, she says, it reflects the interaction of three structural forces: economic inequality, historical exclusion and changing cultural and environmental conditions.

The first is economic access.

As publicly funded municipal pools have disappeared in many places, swimming instruction has increasingly shifted to private clubs and commercial fitness centers, placing lessons beyond the reach of many lower-income households.

The result is that those who often face the greatest risks are also those least likely to receive formal swimming instruction.

Historical exclusion compounds the problem.

Swimming is frequently a skill transmitted from one generation to the next. Communities whose parents and grandparents lacked access to swimming facilities often pass along fear of water rather than confidence, creating a cycle of unfamiliarity that persists across generations.

Urbanization has introduced another obstacle.

Natural places where previous generations learned to swim — such as rivers, lakes and ponds — have become less accessible or less safe, while many public facilities fail to accommodate privacy expectations associated with cultural or religious modesty, discouraging participation among some communities.

Madani says these factors demonstrate that inability to swim rarely reflects individual preference.

Rather, it is shaped by structural inequalities that require structural solutions.

A public survival skill becomes a luxury

According to Madani, commercialization has steadily transformed swimming from a public survival skill into what increasingly resembles an affluent luxury.

As governments reduced investment in municipal pools, many facilities either closed or shifted into private hands.

Private swimming academies operate on commercial business models that rely on relatively small class sizes and recurring monthly fees, making instruction prohibitively expensive for many middle- and lower-income families.

Commercial operators also tend to establish facilities in wealthier neighborhoods, creating what Madani describes as “aquatic deserts” across poorer communities where safe, supervised swimming facilities are largely absent.

Competitive youth swimming has undergone a similar transformation.

Affordable community leagues have increasingly given way to year-round private clubs requiring substantial financial commitment.

The result, she argues, is that access to a basic survival skill has become increasingly determined by household income.

Poor communities face the greatest risk

Madani says higher drowning rates among disadvantaged communities are rooted in systemic inequalities rather than individual behavior.

Families living in poverty often face hidden costs associated with swimming lessons, including transportation, equipment and time away from work.

Schools serving wealthier communities are more likely to maintain swimming programs, while underfunded districts have eliminated pools and water safety education because of budget constraints.

Limited public investment further leaves many lower-income neighborhoods without safe swimming facilities, forcing children and young people to seek recreation in unsupervised rivers, canals, quarries and other hazardous bodies of water.

How to transform swimming into an essential life skill

Madani says reversing these trends requires coordinated action in three areas.

Governments should classify municipal swimming pools as essential public health infrastructure rather than optional recreational amenities, while investing in lifeguard training and securing hazardous water sites.

Education systems should treat water competency as a basic educational outcome by incorporating swimming and water safety into primary school curricula. Where schools lack pools, partnerships with nearby aquatic facilities can fill the gap.

Communities, meanwhile, should promote more inclusive access by accommodating cultural preferences through measures such as gender-segregated swimming sessions and acceptance of modest swimwear.

WHO’s ‘PROTECT’ framework against drowning

Despite causing hundreds of thousands of deaths annually, drowning remains one of the world’s most neglected public health challenges.

To coincide with World Drowning Prevention Day, the World Health Organization released its latest ‘PROTECT’ technical package, offering governments a practical framework for reducing drowning deaths through evidence-based interventions.

The recommendations include supervised childcare away from open water, stronger regulation of boats and ferries, improved flood-risk management, survival swimming instruction for school-age children, physical barriers around dangerous water hazards and widespread public training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and safe rescue techniques.

Together, WHO says, these measures provide governments with a comprehensive blueprint for preventing avoidable deaths.

Men and children face the highest risk

According to the WHO Global Status Report on Drowning Prevention, children under five remain the most vulnerable group, while more than 90% of drowning deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, particularly across Asia and Africa.

Globally, males are about twice as likely to drown as females because they are more frequently exposed to open water and engage in riskier behavior.

Rapid urbanization, dependence on water transport and climate-related flooding continue to increase those risks.

The United Nations and global health authorities are urging governments to establish dedicated national leadership on drowning prevention, integrate swimming, water safety and first-aid instruction into school curricula, strengthen flood-warning systems and improve safety standards for commercial vessels.

Experts also emphasize the role of families.

Parents are encouraged to maintain constant, close supervision of children around water, remembering that drowning is often silent and may occur without splashing or cries for help.

Individuals are urged to learn swimming, safe rescue techniques and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, wear life jackets while boating and avoid intoxicants during water-related activities.

For Islamic scholars, public health experts and sociologists alike, the conclusion is remarkably similar.

Swimming is not simply a sport or leisure activity.

It is a life-saving skill that protects families, strengthens communities and, when used in the service of others, can become an enduring act of compassion and faith.