AIA Poson Safety Programme marks another year of impact, saving six lives and benefiting hundreds of thousands

Reinforcing a 31-year commitment to safeguarding Sri Lankans, AIA Insurance Lanka expanded its annual Poson safety programme this year with a range of initiatives to support safer, healthier and more convenient pilgrimage experiences for hundreds of thousands of devotees visiting Anuradhapura and Mihintale.

For over three decades, the AIA Poson Safety Programme has been a trusted presence of the Poson season in Anuradhapura.

This year, it brought together public safety, health awareness, environmental stewardship, and transport assistance under one integrated initiative.

As part of this year’s enhanced initiative, AIA Insurance operated a free Poson Pilgrimage Train from Colombo Fort to Anuradhapura, enabling approximately 1,500 devotees to travel to the sacred city safely and conveniently.

To further facilitate movement between key pilgrimage sites, a free shuttle train service was introduced between Anuradhapura and Mihintale for three consecutive days, providing transport for approximately 22,000 passengers.

Recognising the importance of safety during the Poson season, AIA Insurance once again partnered with the Sri Lanka Police, Sri Lanka Life Saving Association, Sri Lanka Navy and the Civil Security Department to deploy more than 530 lifeguards across 44 reservoirs and water bodies in Anuradhapura and surrounding areas.

This year alone, the programme helped save 6 lives, further strengthening its long-standing impact.

Since its inception, the AIA Poson Safety Programme has helped save more than 250 lives, with no reported loss of life in areas covered by the programme during the Poson season.

In appreciation of the dedicated service provided by these lifeguards, AIA also extended complimentary personal accident insurance coverage to all lifeguards serving under the programme this year.

Complementing its safety initiatives, AIA Insurance launched several health awareness and screening programmes targeting some of Sri Lanka’s most pressing health concerns.

These included blood pressure screening programmes conducted in collaboration with medical professionals, providing more than 300 free blood pressure checks and consultations to support the early detection of hypertension, a leading contributor to cardiovascular disease in the country.

In partnership with the Cancer Society of Sri Lanka, AIA conducted an oral cancer awareness and screening programme that benefited more than 250 individuals.

Oral cancer remains one of the most prevalent cancers among Sri Lankan men, and the initiative aimed to create greater awareness of symptoms and the importance of early diagnosis.

To enhance convenience and accessibility for pilgrims, AIA Insurance collaborated with the Ministry of Defence – Centre for Defence Research & Development to introduce a digital map service.

The platform enabled devotees to easily locate essential services including parking areas, drinking water facilities, toilets, medical camps, safe bathing locations, dansal and emergency contact points throughout the sacred city.

The application recorded more than 267,000 users throughout the pilgrimage season, making it one of the most widely utilised digital services available to pilgrims.

Further demonstrating its commitment to creating a healthier and more sustainable environment, AIA Insurance also organised environmental clean-up programmes around the pilgrimage sites.

Over 450 kg of plastic waste collected through the programme will be recycled and repurposed into T-shirts, which will be used to incentivise environmental conservation and responsible waste management among schoolchildren and corporate communities.

With an expanded range of services and partnerships, AIA Poson Safety Programme is stronger than ever this year, reflecting the company's core mission of helping Sri Lankans live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.