Manulife Cambodia has proven a true champion of the community with its astute reading of the needs of the market in which it operates.
Words from the winner
Manulife (Cambodia) PLC
Community-building, one initiative at a time
Manning up for a better Cambodia.
Manulife (Cambodia) PLC commenced operations in Cambodia in 2012 as the first international life insurance company in the country. Manulife as a global company has been committed to serving their local community through CSR programmes worldwide. As one of the world’s largest life insurance companies, one of their primary goals is to promote financial literacy. Additionally, the company is committed to promoting health and wellness and the prevention of disease through active, healthy living. In line with their global objectives, Manulife Cambodia has identified three important CSR efforts to base their intiatives on: road safety, financial literacy and the health and wellness of the community.
Road accident reports reveal that accidents in Cambodia claim on average, five people every day. 75 percent of road fatalities in Cambodia in 2017 were motorcyclists. 65 percent of these fatalities could have been prevented through the use of helmets. Aligning itself to improve this situation, Manulife collaborates with Asia Injury Prevention Foundation to support the Helmets for Families Project. Since 2012, it has partnered with Asia Injury Prevention Foundation – an NGO which promotes and provides life-saving road safety knowledge and skills to low and middle income countries. Their joint efforts have served to educate the community about safety awareness, while at the back-end, it conducts research, monitoring, evaluation of road safety and advocacy of swift enactment of legislation on helmet use, especially for children.
Manulife Cambodia’s road safety education initiatives aim to increase helmet use and provide road safety knowledge to parents, teachers and students. Workshops were held for parents to raise awareness of the safety benefits of helmets and traffic law education. Manulife donated 6,000 helmets to the cause, resulting in at least 109 students being protected from potential serious injury in road crashes. Child helmet use in schools have also increased up to 80 percent, and has played an important role in reducing road deaths and accidents in Cambodia.
Besides building healthier and better financial future for Cambodian families, the company is dedicated to promoting better health and wellness of the community; namely heart health. According to the World Health Organisation, Ccardiovascular Disease is the world’s biggest killer, claiming 17.5 million lives annually. In Cambodia alone, 24 percent of deaths and disabilities are caused by cardiovascular disease. This makes it the second largest cause of death and disability in Cambodia. The company undertook to make a difference by partnering with Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) – an NGO which operates as an independent, non-profit paediatric healthcare organization. This partnership is to improve healthcare for Cambodian children by creating a sustainable, replicable model of a healthcare institution.
Manulife supports AHC’s treatment of cardiology issues such as congenital heart disease, which affects almost one in every 100 newborns. Although 80 percent will not require surgery, most patients will need long term holistic medical treatment and regular follow-up.
function tests (spirometry/peak flow meter) to 600 patients through patient health clubs. The intiative resulted in a 12 percent increase in patients seeking asthma and COPD treatment.
In addition, the company established 40 nebulization centers in clinics and hospitals, and donated 105 units of nebulization station across 14 cities/provinces. The company also contributed 500 units of home nebulizer units for children suffering from asthma.
Since its collaboration with AHC from 2015 till present, Manulife Cambodia and many of its employees globally continue to participate and contribute towards the Angkor Wat International Half Marathon. Collectively, Manulife’s employees have raised over USD 110,000 in 2017 and over USD 80,000 in 2018. The proceeds of this fundraising go towards supporting AHC’s holistic cardiac care – which sees over 1,200 cardiology cases a year.
The company is also deeply passionate about building a better financial future for Cambodian families. Public and client seminars have been held at different locations annually since 2012 and were attended by over 130,000 Cambodians.
Share This Story
Be Recognised
As One Of Asia’s Top Leadership and Sustainability Players
This award recognises an entrepreneur who is 40 years or below and has shown exceptional business performance, having built a name for themselves regardless of boundaries that may come with age. He/she embodies fine values, strong beliefs and unwavering dedication in their entrepreneurial pursuit, thus serving as an inspiration for aspiring young leaders.
