The World Bank has recognized Sri Lanka's 1990 Suwa Seriya Ambulance Service for strengthening Sri Lanka’s primary healthcare system and giving a second chance at life to the millions who are critically injured.
Martin Raiser, the Vice President for the South Asia Region of the World Bank Group recognizing the 1990 Suwa Seriya noted that the ambulance service has tapped into this potential by leading digital innovation in health and emergency services.
Its trademark speed and efficiency come from digital integration into its processes and operations—from using specific algorithms to identify the fastest ambulance that can be deployed to an emergency, to tracking callers’ locations through an app, to digitally tracking fuel levels in its vehicles.
The World Bank says Suwa Seriya’s success is an example of how technology can help revolutionize service delivery in developing countries.
Since its launch in 2016, 1.8 million Sri Lankan citizens in distress have dialed 1990 , and a Suwa Seriya ambulance has rushed them to the nearest hospital or primary care facility within 12 minutes of their call, one of the fastest response rates in the world for an ambulance service.
In these seven years, Suwa Seriya has saved countless lives—providing citizens the highest level of pre-hospital care, reducing complications caused by delayed care, and enabling them to get back into the workforce in record time—making a positive contribution to the country’s economy.
Initially funded by a grant from India, 1990 Suwa Seriya has since been supported by the Sri Lankan government.
However, it deliberately seeks private donors and sponsors to fund its digital innovations so as to not rely solely on public funding in a resource-constrained environment.
In its largest fundraiser yet, Suwa Seriya raised an impressive LKR 750 million in private funding via its “adopt an ambulance” campaign.
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