Expolanka CSR initiative ‘Save Lives’ to help eradicate dengue

Expolanka CSR together with Baraka recently undertook the ‘Save Lives’ initiative to increase dengue awareness and the prevention of the spread of the disease. Mascots dressed up as giant mosquitoes roamed prime locations in Colombo and suburbs with ‘Dengue Kills’ message boards while street drama crews engaged the public at popular places on weekends.

The dengue fever is an infectious tropical disease commonly transmitted by the Aedesaegypti mosquito, and is easily prevented by taking simple safety precautions. Expolanka CSR took this message to the public with its awareness campaign, meeting people at popular public locations such as the Sunday pola fair, Markets and Bus stands. Baraka branded mosquito repellents, a product of Bio Extracts (Pvt.) Ltd, were given free to all people who stopped to watch the ‘take action now and eliminate dengue’ themed street drama, followed by the distribution of leaflets highlighting the symptoms of the disease and prevention methods.

Speaking on the initiative Head of Marketing, Corporate Communications and CSR Paddy Weerasekera said, “Expolanka being a responsible corporate citizen saw that an awareness programme on Dengue was the need of the hour and we acted on it.

Constant reminders must be done at regular intervals to the public, for if not people keep forgetting how dangerous dengue is and what they should be doing to prevent it. For instance, most of us forget to keep the surroundings around our households clean, which is a simple prevention measure which needs to be done on a regular basis.”

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health has warned that Dengue has now entered a pandemic stage as the resurgence of the mosquito-borne menace has killed 80 people and affected 14,500 others during the first six months of the year compared to a total of 28,473 cases reported in 2011.  According to the latest updates from the Ministry’s Epidemiology Unit, this number went up to 28,083 suspected dengue cases by the end of August, with approximately 48.95% of dengue cases being reported from the Western province. The Colombo District alone was responsible for 6,683cases reported in this time. The ‘Save Lives’ project was given a boost through Social Media, with followers of those channels being made aware of locations of the street campaign which covered Colombo, Maharagama, Nugegoda, and Pelawatte and reached over a 1000 persons. Visuals from the campaign and the informative leaflet were also released in Social Media to maximise the amount of people benefiting from the campaign.

Expolanka Holdings PLC strives to be a leader in enhancing the long-term sustainability of the communities it operates.  The CSR practices are integrated throughout the business operations delivering social, economic and environmental benefits to employees, communities and other stakeholders. Over the years the company has initiated several long term and short term CSR initiatives. These include Expo Medix – a low cost medical clinic, Free health camps and awareness programs on health and diseases, degree scholarship programs, tsunami and disaster relief, infrastructure development, food programs and environmental initiatives, including Earth Hour and Environment Day activities. All CSR projects are focused on five areas, namely, Health, Education, Environment, Community Development and Disaster Relief covering most of the societal needs of the country and thus establishing Expolanka as a corporate citizen working for a better tomorrow.