Union Assurance Suwa Maga Programme Enhances Public Accessibility to Healthcare Services

Union Assurance, Sri Lanka’s premier Life Insurer, unveiled its ‘Suwamaga Mobile Screening Unit’ on 27 November 2024 at Cinnamon Lakeside, with the attendance of the Ministry of Health and the Diabetes Association of Sri Lanka. The Suwamaga Mobile Screening Unit is a fully equipped mobile truck designed to provide free diabetes screening conducted by certified healthcare professionals along with health reports and personalised guidance for participants in managing and mitigating health risks. The Mobile Screening Unit, which has been travelling across Sri Lanka, from urban hubs to rural regions, has been enhancing public accessibility to healthcare services.

Chief Executive Officer of Union Assurance – Senath Jayatilake

  1. What inspired the direction of Union Assurance approach to corporate citizenship?

As Sri Lanka’s first private insurer, Union Assurance has played a pivotal role in the nation’s socio-economic landscape for nearly four decades. We have stood by our people during challenging times and celebrated many milestones together. Over this journey, we have built a brand that continuously evolves to meet the changing needs of our customers, ensuring a strong and impactful presence.

In recognizing the evolving landscape and understanding how our stakeholders wish to engage with us, we took a bold step last year in rethinking how value is created across the board. This led to the introduction of our new brand vision: empowering human progress by protecting what matters most. We aim to support individuals on their unique journeys of progress, making life insurance more accessible and simplified. Our goal is to provide them with the strength and confidence to thrive in all aspects of life. We firmly believe that individual empowerment is foundational to national development, acting as a catalyst for economic and social progress.

In line with this vision, we also introduced a new brand purpose; to protect lives and enrich the well-being of everyone as we understand that these two tenants are essential for empowering progress. This is why at the heart of what we do is our commitment to strengthening the financial, emotional, physical, and community well-being of all. This overall strategic direction forms the foundation of everything we do and inspires us to make a positive difference for individuals, families, and communities across Sri Lanka.

In bringing our brand vision and purpose to life, particularly in enriching community well-being, we conducted a thorough assessment to identify the most urgent national challenges. One critical issue that emerged was the widespread prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which have a profound impact on both the social and economic progress of the nation. A survey conducted by the Ministry of Health in 2021–2022 revealed that a staggering 80% of deaths in Sri Lanka are attributed to NCDs, highlighting the severity of the situation.

Within the scope of NCDs, we saw that diabetes is a major issue considering the alarming rise in the country’s diabetes and pre-diabetes over the past three decades. According to the International Diabetes Federation, Sri Lanka reported a diabetes prevalence rate of 9.8% among adults in 2021, placing the nation at a heightened risk within the South Asian region. This issue affects a significant portion of the population, with increasing cases among younger individuals due to modern sedentary lifestyles, inadequate exercise, and rising stress levels. The consequences are severe, including rising morbidity rates and complications such as cardiovascular diseases, blindness, kidney failure, and amputations.

In response to this critical national issue, Union Assurance has stepped forward as a proactive corporate citizen through Suwamaga, a program dedicated to providing nationwide support in the fight against diabetes.

Chief Marketing Officer of Union Assurance – Mahen Gunarathna

  1. Could you elaborate on this CSR programme, Suwamaga?

Suwamaga is Union Assurance’s flagship CSR programme, dedicated to providing nationwide support to reducing diabetes incidence in Sri Lanka. Our comprehensive approach includes raising public awareness, promoting active lifestyles, facilitating early detection and management, and providing tools for community engagement. With its structured framework and ambitious goals, Suwamaga aims to create lasting societal change.

As part of the programme, the Company also unveiled its ‘Suwamaga Mobile Screening Unit’ in November 2024 with the collaboration of the Ministry of Health. The Suwamaga Mobile Screening Unit is a fully equipped mobile truck designed to provide free diabetes screenings conducted by certified healthcare professionals along with health reports and personalised guidance for participants in managing and mitigating health risks. The Mobile Screening Unit travels across Sri Lanka, from urban hubs to rural regions, ensuring that access to free testing is available to individuals of all ages, regardless of whether they are Union Assurance customers or not, thereby enhancing public accessibility to healthcare services.

Since its launch, the Mobile Screening Unit has made a positive impact on over 16,000 individuals, driving meaningful progress at a national level. The Mobile Screening Unit has conducted screenings across all parts of the country, providing free testing to over 7,600 individuals so far. Each participant received a comprehensive diabetes screening report, along with personalized medical advice, empowering them with valuable insights to take charge of their well-being.

The results from our screenings further emphasize the urgency of our purpose. Alarmingly, from those who were further recommended for the HbA1c testing, 30% of those screened were found to be at the pre-diabetic stage and 20% in the diabetes stage, underscoring the widespread nature of the issue and the critical need for proactive intervention. We also found that many participants were diagnosed with diabetes for the first time; hence, the testing enabled them to take early action. In the most urgent cases, individuals who were previously unaware of their condition were promptly referred to hospitals for further care.

We encourage the public to take advantage of this valuable opportunity and avail of the screenings which are offered completely free of charge, making healthcare accessible and providing individuals with essential insights into their health, empowering them to take proactive steps towards a healthier future.

Vice President, Sri Lanka Diabetes Association – Dhanya Wijesuriya

  1. How critical is the problem of Diabetes and what is the impact it has in Sri Lanka?

I feel that the most alarming non-communicable disease is diabetes which is an epidemic in Sri Lanka. According to the STEPS survey 2021, 14.6% were identified to have raised fasting blood glucose levels while 13.0% had impaired fasting glycemia. If this is not rapidly addressed these figures may go beyond 25%. persons, or approximately 25% of the population, suffer from this illness.

Another serious concern is pre-diabetes, which is the stage before diabetes.  If detected at this stage, diabetes can be prevented. However, once diabetes is diagnosed, it cannot be cured. You can lead a normal life if you have good control through lifestyle modification and appropriate therapy. Unfortunately, 50% of persons with diabetes are unaware they have the illness. Tests are carried out only when they develop complications of diabetes, which is frightening.   As such, diabetes is a silent killer and the most prevalent non-communicable disease in the country.

Diabetes can lead to blindness, heart disease, kidney failure, and amputation due to nonhealing wounds. Additionally, mental stress is an important causative factor that contributes to the onset of diabetes and adds to poor control for persons living with diabetes. This is mainly due to the stress of modern lifestyles.

  1. How can diabetes be managed?

Diabetes can be controlled by improving lifestyles i.e. consuming a high-fiber low in carbohydrate diet, adequate exercise, and stress control.  This includes consuming food high in fiber, i.e. red rice,  legumes and lentils,  vegetables,  fish, and chicken in adequate quantities while reducing carbohydrate intake. People in Sri Lanka typically eat large portions of rice, which should be reduced while increasing the intake of vegetables. The ideal food plate should consist of 1/3 high-fiber rice and 2/3 of vegetables, fish, or chicken.

Adequate exercise is essential. The general exercise recommendation for an individual is a minimum of 30 minutes per day (continuous) for 5 days per week. Modern lifestyles make one physically inactive with long hours in front of computers, with little or no time for physical activity. This lifestyle contributes to obesity, which is a leading cause of diabetes. We need to adopt healthy lifestyle habits to overcome the development of Diabetes. Stress is a major factor that is overlooked most often. Our lifestyles have become very stressful due to pressures at work, family-related issues, and environmental and social issues.

Finally, it is important that a newly diagnosed person with diabetes should seek guidance from a qualified medical practitioner. Proper medical management is crucial to achieve good control of this condition.