NMG, cancer institute partner to create awareness
NMG-U staff led by their Head of Marketing Elizabeth Namaganda (centre) and UCI officials launch the partnership deal at Monitor Publications Ltd offices in Kampala on May 8, 2024. Photo | Shabibah Nakirigya
What you need to know:
- Speaking to the media yesterday, Ms Elizabeth Namaganda, the head of marketing at NMG-U, said: “We know the largest population in the country is the young and we have reports of childhood cancer cases which are on the rise due to abandoned treatment.”
Nation Media Group-Uganda (NMG-U) has partnered with the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) to fight cancer among children.
The initiative, which is dubbed Cancer Colour Run 2024 and organised by the Uganda Child Cancer Foundation (UCCF), aims at raising awareness about childhood cancers.
This year’s run, which is slated to take place on May 19, will be started at the UCI offices.
Speaking to the media yesterday, Ms Elizabeth Namaganda, the head of marketing at NMG-U, said: “We know the largest population in the country is the young and we have reports of childhood cancer cases which are on the rise due to abandoned treatment.”
She added that many people are concentrating on adulthood cancer.
“We have got several cases of parents approaching us to mobilise money for their children meaning the cases are on the rise,” Ms Namaganda said.
This is not the first time NMG has taken part in cancer initiatives, in 2016, they joined UCI in establishing a shelter for cancer patients in memory of late journalist Rosemary Nankabirwa.
Ms Beatrice Rukundo, a nurse at UCI, said annually, they receive more than 700 children and the commonest cancer, among children, is Wilms tumour (kidney).
“Currently, we have a capacity of 30 beds but the numbers are overwhelming, about 50 per night,” she said.
Ms Rukundo added that currently, the survival rate is at 50 per cent depending on the number of patients on treatment, however, they are targeting a 60 per cent rate by 2030.
“The biggest challenge to reach our target is the social and economic issues, which are attributed to treatment abandonment and that is why we are on this initiative to create more awareness,” she said.
Ms Rukundo added that most of the time when they do follow-up calls to children who do not honour appointments, parents say they do not have transport to seek treatment.
Mr Moses Echodu, a childhood cancer survivor from UCCF, said the run will enable UCI to meet some of its psychosocial needs.
“You find that through government, UCI provides the majority of anti-cancer medicines, but we have noticed that there is a high abandonment of treatment as a result of psychosocial needs like transport, and nutrition,” he said.
He added that UCCF has set an ambitious fundraising target of Shs150m to bridge the gap in cancer care for children.
Background
The Cancer Colour Run was started in 2023 by the UCCF, to raise awareness about childhood cancers. The initiative seeks not only to gather funds but also to underscore the critical significance of early detection.
