UA signs MOU to assist prevention of Thalassaemia in NWP

Tuesday, 6 May 2014 00:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Union Assurance signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Health, Indigenous Medicine, Sports & Youth Affairs of North Western Province together with the Department of Health Service (DoHS) – North Western Province, to assist the prevention of Thalassaemia in the North Western Province. Secretary of the Ministry T.B. Wickramasinghe, Provincial Director of Health Services Dr. R.M.S.K. Rathnayake and UA AGM Marketing Dharshana Amarasiynghe, were present among the presence of Provincial Minister of Health, Indigenous Medicine, Sports & Youth Affairs H.M.D.B. Herath and other representatives of the organisations. The MOU was signed to strengthen the prevention of Thalassaemia in the North Western Province as the highest number of Thalassaemia cases are reported from the Kurunegala district. Thalassaemia is an inherited blood disorder and has emerged as the most common genetic disease in Sri Lanka, where if not treated, can result in early childhood death. As per recent statistics, approximately 80 children are born with the condition in the country annually. This condition also poses as an increasing burden for the health-care services in the country where the government has to bear a cost of 500,000 per patient annually. This cost includes blood transfusion and iron chelating injections. “Thalassaemia can be 100% prevented through awareness building. Our aim is to create responsible citizens equipped with the knowledge about this easily preventable but life threatening, inherited blood disorder,” said Union Assurance Assistant General Manager – Marketing Dharshana Amarasiynghe. “Therefore we decided to assist the Ministry of Health, Indigenous Medicine, Sports & Youth Affairs of North Western Province and Department of Health Service – North Western Province in their programs of creating awareness among the public,” he added. The most effective way of preventing this serious condition is to educate the adults and younger generations to ensure that two Thalassaemia carriers do not get married to avoid this condition. To support this effort a documentary video was developed under the guidance of Department of Health Services of NWP which was handed over to the Ministry and DoHS on the same day. Programs will be carried out with the assistance of the DoHS in the North Western Province for the public with the screening of the documentary. The CSR strategy of Union Assurance is based on two main platforms, which is on Safety Awareness to create safer roads for a safer tomorrow and Health Awareness to create a healthier tomorrow. Traffic Warden Awareness programs, highway safety awareness, crime prevention boards in Police divisions are carried out on the Safety Platform with Sri Lanka police while on the Health awareness platform, Dengue prevention programs are carried out with the Public Health Department of CMC and divisional MOHs and Thalassaemia awareness programs are carried out with the National Thalassaemia Centre of Kurunegala. UA hopes to keep strengthening its CSR reach and to be part of positive social change as a ‘trusted’ insurance provider to the nation.