Preventive strategy based on Know Your Enemy, Know Your Army and Plan for Defense and Attack
Jeddah, September 2009: Bupa Arabia, the Kingdom’s leading health insurance company, is mounting a campaign against swine flu by organizing a series of awareness seminars for the employees of Bupa member companies to give them general information about the disease and inform them how to protect themselves and their families from contracting swine flu.
“These seminars are themed Prevention is Better than Cure and our objective is to make Bupa Arabia members aware of the various preventive measures that can be taken,” said Tal Nazer, Managing Director of Bupa Arabia. “As a member of the Bupa Group we can draw on worldwide experience of swine flu outbreaks and we believe it is our responsibility to utilize this unique global data resource for the benefit of our members.”
Conducted by Dr. Mohammed Sherif, Bupa Speaker in the seminar, the first seminar was a two-day event held at the Jeddah Marriott Hotel on 1st and 2nd of September 2009 for groups of SAMACO employees.
Dr. Mohammed’s presentation was based on three strategic objectives, Know Your Enemy, Know Your Army and Plan for Defence and Attack. In the first part, he described how the swine flu virus evolved through human flu virus and bird flu virus mixing with a form of virus among pigs. He then went on to explain that swine flu is contracted from human to human and that the symptoms are the same as ordinary influenza.
Dr. Sherif also pointed out that swine flu is more dangerous for people with chronic diseases than for healthy people and that the number of deaths from swine flu is much lower than from ordinary flu.
On the basis that prevention is better than cure, Dr. Sherif highlighted the need to eat plenty of foods containing vitamin C such as fruit and vegetables. To prevent the highly infectious virus from spreading, he stressed the need for hygiene and especially to use a tissue when sneezing.
Continuing these initial seminars, Bupa Arabia plans to extend the programme to other clients in Jeddah, Riyadh and Al-Khobar.
Aiming to be the health and care leader in Saudi Arabia by taking care of the lives in its hands, Bupa Arabia fulfils its promise to be the healthcare partner that provides expertise for life through its medical expertise and commercial strength, and its high level of performance as an innovator and champion of its customers.
Bupa Arabia is a caring company, practicing excellence throughout the organization for the good of its members and their welfare, its employees and their working environment, and is committed to corporate social responsibility for the long term benefit of Saudi society.
About Bupa Arabia
Active in Saudi Arabia since 1997, the Bupa Group’s joint venture with the Nazer Group was renamed Bupa Arabia in 2008. One of the largest international private health insurance companies, the Bupa Group serves more than 8 million members in over 190 countries and employs over 46,000 worldwide.
Bupa Arabia is the only company in the Kingdom dedicated exclusively to health insurance and as such is able to focus its resources on listening to its members and taking care of each one as an individual person.
Aiming to be the health and care leader in Saudi Arabia by taking care of the lives in its hands, Bupa Arabia fulfils its promise to be the healthcare partner that provides expertise for life through its medical expertise and commercial strength, and its high level of performance as an innovator and champion of its customers.
To ensure that its members receive prompt medical attention, Bupa Arabia has introduced innovative, award-winning services including the Basmah card that gives members instant access to their policy benefits and reduces waiting time at hospitals; the Bupa Msg SMS service; the Kingdom’s first ever 24/7 customer service hotline; worldwide emergency coverage; and interactive online services.
Bupa Arabia has an exemplary rate of response to approval requests, the majority approved within 15 minutes, ensuring that patients receive prompt medical attention and get well faster. In addition, Bupa Arabia operates an automated approval procedure that responds in less than 10 seconds to requests concerning maternity and chronic medical cases, in-patient cases for children under five years old, and dental and optical services.
A pioneer of empowering woman to contribute to the Kingdom’s economic development, Bupa Arabia employed its first female staff in 2001. Women now make up around 28 percent of the company's 500-strong workforce, which altogether is made up of more than 40 percent Saudi nationals.
Bupa Arabia’s care for humanity extends to providing the best working environment for its employees and the company is also recognized for its corporate social responsibility activities, which include a proactive role in contributing to the educational development of the Kingdom’s youth for the long term benefit of Saudi society.