Anguilla Health Promotions Unit was selected as first place winner of the annual Risk Reduction Award. Jennifer Gumbs holds the award certificate with sponsors Sandra Lovell/Alliance Insurance (back row, centre) and Donald Curtis/Caribbean Insurance Solutions (back row, right).
ANGUILLA--Alliance Insurance Services (AIS) Ltd. Director Sandra Lovell welcomed guests to the 2021 Risk Reduction Award ceremony sponsored by AIS for the eleventh consecutive year. First and second place winners were the Anguilla Health Promotion Unit and the Chronic Disease Unit, respectively. The award ceremony, held at AIS’s new office location in Rock Farm, on Wednesday, March 24, included short remarks from Deputy Governor Perin Bradley, Director of Disaster Management (DDM) Calvin Samuel and Alwyn Richardson from DDM.
Awards were presented to the Health Promotion Unit and the Chronic Disease Unit. Each received Certificates of Merit as well as gifts of US $400 and US $200, respectively.
Lovell said the importance of disaster reduction has become even more apparent during the current COVID-19 pandemic. She said, “Risk reduction saves lives, protects people from injury and prevents damage. The new task that every living individual must now be engaged in is to reduce the spread and effects of COVID-19 and other diseases rampant in our communities. In order to mitigate the impact of disasters and sustain our social-economic investments, governments and international organisations can no longer afford to treat disasters as a marginalised issue or deal with it on an ad hoc basis. Risk management is no longer a mere activity but is now a new profession for local governments.”
Samuel congratulated the awardees and noted that they are champions in the reduction of risk within their specialties, to the community. He said the work of the current awardees cannot be overstated in its importance as we live in a region where over 60 per cent of the population suffer from chronic diseases. Saying that disasters expose inequalities and result in the most vulnerable often suffering most in terms of health and livelihood, he emphasised the four P mantra: Persistent Preparation Protects People. He also recognised the insurance companies for the role they play both before and after disasters strike.
