Regional retailer, Nakumatt Holdings, has reaffirmed its support to ease the financial burden on cancer patients through its partnership with Faraja Cancer Support Trust.
This is the second year running that the supermarket giant is working with Faraja Cancer Support Trust to provide cancer treatment, provide access to life-saving cancer screenings and education through the campaign which will involve its customers.
Speaking during the launch of the Cancer Month Campaign, Nakumatt Regional Strategy and Operations Director Ramamurthy Thiagarajan said such collaborations with organizations such as the Faraja Trust will help reach into communities with a disproportionate cancer burden.
“Cancer is a devastating disease that deserves our concerted effort to boost awareness and facilitate support to provide services to encourage cancer prevention, early detection and early treatment, ultimately saving more lives,” he said.
The partnership is geared at boosting awareness, through a month-long campaign of the deadly disease which accounts for approximately 18,000 deaths in Kenya annually.
The campaign is hoping to raise Ksh12million shillings which Nakumatt customers can make a contribution by purchasing Blue Label products, donate Smart Points and cash donations towards the cause.
Last year through the Nakumatt platform, Ksh5million shillings was raised and was channeled towards the care and treatment of 6 patients suffering from the disease.
The money also assisted in the screening efforts in Kisumu and Thika, with 1,622 people undergoing screening, 103 of which were identified as suspicious cases- however only 3 were diagnosed with cancer and are currently undergoing treatment.
Faraja Fundraising Manager Cindy Ogana said: “Timely access and affordability to cancer healthcare, is the biggest barriers to survival in Kenya. To tackle this, Faraja is building a medical fund to support adults and children diagnosed with cancer in Kenya to access medical treatment at the right time.”
Out of a population of 40 million, 40,000 cases of cancer are reported annually. It is unfortunate that most cases of cancer are diagnosed at a late stage in Kenya. As Faraja, we advocate for early detection through early screenings and encourage people to live healthy lifestyles.
By raising awareness on cancer, the Faraja and Nakumatt partnership will be seeking to boost survival rates as global research confirms that when detected early – localized stage – the five-year survival rate is 98 per cent for breast cancer victims. Regrettably due to low awareness, over 30 per cent of women are routinely diagnosed with breast cancer only after it has spread beyond the localized stage.
“At Nakumatt, we shall also be actively facilitating access to information through our in store platforms as we seek to encourage proactive cancer management and prevention in conjunction with Faraja Cancer Trust,” Mr Thiagarajan said.
He went on to add: “The customer, staff and suppliers support has been tremendous and we are now hoping to retain this initiative as our headline social investment activity annually. Our employees are committed to the campaign and have received special training in preparation of this as our intention is to interact intensively with our shoppers.”
According to a report by the International Journal of Cancer, disparities predominantly arise from inequities in work, wealth, income, education, housing and overall standard of living, as well as social barriers to high-quality cancer prevention, early detection and treatment services.
Additionally, persons with lower socioeconomic status are more likely to engage in behaviors that increase cancer risk such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, and poor diet due to environmental or community barriers.