Bupa Challenge

Why is corporate responsibility important to Bupa?
Looking after health is at the very heart of Bupa’s vision; it is our business. Bupa recognizes that, as a leading health and care company, our impact reaches customers, employees, and the community at large.

Why is Bupa undertaking the Ecuador Challenge?
Bupa believes in supporting the communities where we operate around the world and providing our staff with the chance to volunteer, learn new skills and work alongside each other. The Ecuador Challenge does all this on an international scale, bringing our employees from around the world together to support a small community, which currently doesn’t have a basic health facility.

Bupa is working alongside the Martha Estrella Foundation which identified a clear need for health and care support for the village of Miraflores in Ecuador.

When is the Ecuador Challenge taking place?
The Ecuador Challenge will take place from September 7 to November 29, 2009.

What will Bupa be providing?
Bupa, with the help of 120 employee volunteers will build a health center in the town of Miraflores, in addition to providing other educational services. Upon the project’s culmination, the new healthcare and wellness clinic will:

• Host a doctor’s surgery twice a week, instead of once every two months.
• Provide a childcare program so children as young as two aren’t left home alone while their parents go to work.
• Have educational facilities to support the local school.

Why now, especially in the middle of a recession?
We believe passionately in supporting the communities where we operate around the world, and we know how important it is to care for the health and wellbeing for quality of life. Therefore, we cannot be sidelined during an economic downturn.

We also know that the Ecuador Challenge will have many positive benefits for us as a business, supporting employee development on both a personal and professional level and boosting morale.

What practical work will the volunteers be doing in the challenge?
The volunteers will contributing to the construction of the building, teaching English, and helping to deliver healthcare programs to the local community.

In what ways will this work be sustainable, say over the next 5 years?
Once the Challenge is finished and the health clinic completed, Bupa will stay closely involved with the Miraflores community. The relationship will be maintained and developed by Bupa Latin America and the Caribbean division.

What knowledge of Ecuador does Bupa staff have in order to offer health education and advice to the local community?
The teams will work closely with the Martha Estrella Foundation, a local charity offering help to disadvantaged communities to find solutions to improve their social and economic conditions. Employees have been fully briefed and attended training sessions about the likely conditions they will experience and how they will work alongside the Foundation.

Is Bupa potentially putting their staff at risk working with any sick people and exposing them to indigenous diseases?
The Bupa staff has received comprehensive health education presentations, training specific to the work they will be doing, and advice about how to take care of their health in Ecuador. Additionally, all volunteers will have also received the recommended immunizations travelling from their country of origin.

About the Influenza A (H1N1)
The current recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the Influenza A (H1N1) is treatment rather than containment, and that people are free to travel if they are symptom-free. Bupa has advised all volunteers that if they have any flu-like symptoms they should not travel until they have recovered. We will arrange for them to swap volunteering weeks with a colleague so they still get to experience the Challenge.

Even though volunteers will have access to Tamiflu, it is not appropriate for Bupa to prescribe the drug for local villagers; they will be able to access it through their local healthcare services.