Pru Life UK partners with ASKI to aid pregnant women in rural Aurora
Following British life insurer Pru Life UK’s donation of three units
of GE Healthcare Vscan Access Ultrasound Scanners to social non-government
organization Alalay sa Kaunlaran (ASKI) Foundation, the first medical mission
to use the apparatuses was recently rolled out to serve pregnant women in
Aurora province.
Aptly named “Ang S ustansya at
Kalusugan Itinataguyod” (“Establishing nutrition and wellness”), the series
of medical missions organized by ASKI Foundation aims to provide low-cost but
high-tech ultrasound scanning capability to identify high-risk pregnancies.
This will allow for the proper pre-natal care and planning of the delivery in
the right medical facilities, ultimately contributing to the decrease of
maternal mortal rate in underserved areas.
“We saw during this initial medical mission in Aurora the pressing
demand to address the healthcare needs of underserved communities,” said Pru
Life UK President and Chief Executive Officer Antonio De Rosas. He cited the
difficulty of residents in the rural areas to access healthcare facilities -
some of which are as far as eight hours away.
The Aurora leg – which covered the municipalities of Casiguran,
Dilasag and Dinalungan – benefitted over 400 pregnant women, with 90% of them
having been scanned by an ultrasound machine for the first time. High-risk
pregnancies were immediately identified so they can be referred to be given
proper pre-natal care. The mission also addressed antenatal checkup and
malnutrition in children.
“Pru Life UK is in the business of financial wellness, but it is
also part of our advocacy to engage in the communities we serve in to help
provide them with holistic wellness, even at the pre-natal stage,” he
continued. “With the support of the private sector, the high infant and maternal
mortality rate in our country can be reduced through more accessible healthcare
facilities in rural areas. This is our social responsibility.”
The units donated by Pru Life UK will be continuously used in more
underserved communities in remote areas nationwide, including those in Isabela,
Cagayan, Nueva Ecija, Albay, and Northern Cebu. Through this initiative and in
partnership with other private companies, pregnant mothers in these communities
will be able to have an ultrasound every quarter and be given proper care, and
their children and themselves will be given vitamin and deworming medicine,
among others.
The Company’s donation, which is in line with its commitment to
promote health and wellness among Filipinos, is in partnership with ASKI, a
non-profit organization committed to the promotion and development of micro and
small- to medium-sized enterprise and the delivery of social services, as well
as MyDocNow, which integrates technology and the improved availability of
healthcare to provide benefits across many areas of the healthcare system.
Pru Life UK has been supporting various community engagement
initiatives across the country since its establishment in the Philippines. In
1996, the Insurance Commission granted the British subsidiary the license to
operate and sell life insurance products in the country. Since then, Pru Life
UK has expanded its reach to over 130 branches in the Philippines, with the
biggest life agency force at more than 18,000 licensed agents, and has emerged
as one of the top five life insurers. Pru Life UK holds headquarters in Uptown
Bonifacio, Taguig City.
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