Premier Auto has urged the business community to join the fight against childhood cancer by capacitating institutions leading cancer relief programmes as well as running awareness campaigns to help with early detection of the scourge in minors.
Each year, thousands of Zimbabwean children develop cancer and only a few are diagnosed, making cancer the leading cause of death in children.
This is despite the fact that most childhood cancers can be cured with generic medicines and other forms of treatment, including surgery and radiotherapy.
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In a speech to commemorate International Childhood Cancer Day at Rainbow Kids Village in Harare Wednesday, Premier Auto Marketing Manager Tashinga Gomera said Zimbabwean companies need to do more to help the fight against childhood cancer.
“We believe there is so much to be done not only with KidzCan here at the Rainbow Kids Village but also in terms of all their programmes.
“We do urge every other single partner here today to make that pledge not only to support this village but to support every single child who is going through a cancer relief programme. Let’s also identify beyond these communities and maybe map a way forward,” he said.
Gomera added that “We are committed to growing our business responsibly with a heart for the community. We believe in adding value to every community in which we operate, by making a positive social impact. We live up to our brand promise that is Jaguar Land Rover in its full essence.
“We have a programme called Defenders of tomorrow as the land Rover brand and we believe that here at KidzCan we do have some Defenders of tomorrow.”
International Childhood Cancer Day is a global collaborative campaign to raise awareness about childhood cancer and to express support for children and adolescents with cancer, the survivors and their families.
This year’s theme focuses on paying tribute to the families and caregivers and their positive impact on the lives of children and adolescents with cancer.
An estimated 400 000 children develop cancer in Southern Africa per year and only about 200,000 are diagnosed, making cancer the leading cause of death in children. Most of the children who are not diagnosed and who do not receive care are from sub-Saharan Africa.
Survival from childhood cancer in Africa is estimated to be 12% compared to over 80% survival rate in North America and parts of Europe. This represents one of the largest inequities in global health.
Premier Auto donated food hampers to KidzCan to help with basic day-to-day needs with all items going towards the benefit of the children.KidzCan mission, ‘is to increase the survival rate and ensure the utmost quality of life of children with cancer in a caring environment.’
Kidzcan is a Zimbabwean non-profit entity, which provides much-needed cancer relief to children and continues to receive support from the official importer and distributor of Jaguar and Land Rover in Zimbabwe – Premier Auto. We aim to continue our longstanding relationship with KidzCan and support them in any way we can with the invaluable work that they do.