Fashion Bug donates cardiac equipment to Bandarawela District Hospital

MP Chathura Senaratne handing over the Fashion Bug-donated ECG machine to Bandarawela District Hospital DMO Dr. D.M. Dharmasena Dissanayaka

Heart-related disease is the top main cause of deaths in Sri Lanka. With a motive of contributing in smaller yet effective ways to eliminate this cause, Fashion Bug, one of Sri Lanka’s leading retail clothing chain with over 16 outlets island-wide, recently donated an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine to the Bandarawella District Hospital as part of its continuous social responsible activities. 

According to a recent report released by the Stanford South Asian Translational Heart Initiative, people from South Asian countries have a four times greater risk of heart disease than the general population and a greater chance of having a heart attack before the age of 50.

Fashion Bug Director Shabier Subian said, “The equipment was a long term requirement of the cardiology unit of the hospital and we were delighted to have come forward to sponsor this worthy cause. Health is priority to every individual and beyond that is the access to such facilities and treatments.”

The ECG machine was handed over to Bandarawela District Hospital District Medical Officer Dr. D.M. Dharmasena Dissanayaka, at the Health Ministry auditorium by Member of Parliament Chathura Senaratne. 

Srilaal Jayantha Rohana – Secretary to Chathura Senaratne, Fashion Bug Deputy General Manager Dr. S.H.M. Faraaz, Fashion Bug Human Resource Development Manager Namal Ekanayaka and Fashion Bug Assistant Marketing Manager S.M. Faham also participated at this event.

Coronary heart disease deaths in the country reached 32,582 or 25.74% of total deaths as per the WHO report published during mid last year. Various reports state that men appear to face a slightly higher threat of the disease than women, and that even children have high levels of cholesterol and lipoproteins in their blood which are two main reasons for the cause said Dr. Faraaz.

Apart from its various CSR activities conducted across many domains, Fashion Bug has played a vital role in contributing to the health sector as a corporate citizen. Maharagama Cancer Hospital, Lady Ridgeway, Colombo Eye Hospital, and Ragama Hospital have all benefitted from its initiatives with the most recent one being donating dash boards to the Ragama Hospital.

Fashion Bug’s signature CSR initiative is the award winning Sisu Dirimaga program which has benefitted 20 schools and over 7,000 students as of today, with a goal of conducting these programs in over 120 schools and over 100,000 students across the country.