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By Joyce Mukucha
National AIDS Council (NAC) in partnership with Zimbabwe Professional Golfers Association (ZPGA) and KidzCan have joined hands in the 2021 NAC PRO-AM Golf Fundraising Tournament aimed at raising at least USD100 000 which will go towards the purchase of chemotherapy and diagnostics medicines for children.
The three-day Pro-AM golf tournament which kick-starts tomorrow, the 20th of October, with the prize-giving ceremony coming on 22 October has become one of NAC’s annual fund-raising strategies, wherein it brings together partners, stakeholders and the public to raise resources to support anti-cancer initiatives.
In his remarks during a press conference in Harare yesterday, NAC Chief Executive Officer, Dr Bernard Madzima said this year they have decided to partner KidzCan to focus on children who are usually left out with less funded anti-cancer initiatives.
“While there has been an increase in the number and occurrence of anti-cancer awareness and containment measures, childhood anti-cancer initiatives remain underfunded.
“It is in this regard that NAC has decided to partner KIDZCAN to raise resources for their childhood cancer initiatives. The 2021 Pro-AM NAC Golf Tournament, which comes only a few weeks after the Ladies Golfers competition, seeks to raise USD 100,000 with USD52,000 meant for KIDZCAN to implement childhood anti-cancer initiatives. The prize money will be a whopping USD 50,000! I hope the golfers out there will feel motivated to come out and win for themselves and the children,” said Dr Madzima.
He also appealed to corporates and the private sector to join NAC in this worthy initiative by making a significant contribution to the health and welfare of children affected by and at risk of cancers.
He added that the partnership NAC has entered into with KIDZCAN and ZPGA for this Pro-AM golf tournament highlights the direction NAC is pursuing under the Zimbabwe National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan, 2021-25.
“The achievement of the results envisaged in this plan will rest on among other strategies, establishment and maintenance of functional partnerships and synergies that are mutually beneficial. We shall therefore be pursuing such and other partnerships with various other sectors in line with the strategic plan and the HIV and AIDS resource mobilisation strategy to ensure that the response is well resourced.”
In Zimbabwe alone, over 6000 new cases of cancer are recorded each year, with cervical cancer alone accounting for 35 percent of all cancers.
Dr Madzima highlighted that lack of community awareness has been identified as one of the major challenges that the country faces in fighting cancer, as 80 percent of cancer patients present late at stages 3 and 4, resulting in increased premature deaths.
“Other challenges include inadequate resources for cancer programmes and limited-service coverage, leaving people in outlying areas with limited or without services at all.
“In view of the fact that 60% of new cancer cases are associated with HIV, the National AIDS Council has embraced the cancer response and previously procured a Mammogram for breast cancer screening, and procured anti-cancer drugs worth over USD 1 million per year between 2012 and 2018.”
Through resources raised by the previous golf tournaments, NAC has also procured over 20 cervical cancer screening machines for identified health centres.
KidzCan Executive Director, Daniel McKenzie extended his gratitude to NAC and said that the foundation was encountering quite a number of challenges in as much as the management of childhood cancers is concerned.
“As KidzCan we are humbled by the assistance we have been receiving from NAC. The challenges associated with the management of childhood cancers are huge and complex, and NAC has come to Kidzcan’s rescue by availing financial support to the tune of USD 51 225 for the procurement of medication, raising awareness diagnostics and bus fares for the period September to December 2021. We are hopeful that come 2022, NAC will avail more support.”
McKenzie said KidzCan will try to emulate the successes that NAC has scored in HIV management in childhood cancer as he explained that with NAC in full support of adult and now childhood cancer, the management of this deadly scourge will certainly improve in the country.
Zimbabwe Professional Golfers Association Secretary-General, Simon Murungweni said the partnership between his organisation and NAC continues to be cemented with the aim of assisting those in needy.
“Today is very an important day for us as ZPGA. Golf is our game and it is our business, when we come to golf we say we are, at work as we use our strength to mobilise resources for those in need during this tournament. Over the years, NAC has come through as and the partnerships have become growing from strength to strength. We are very proud to have partnered with NAC today. Our main aim is to make sure that we get these chemotherapy medicines and diagnostics for the recipients who are going to be announced later,” said Murungweni.
This year’s programme will start with professional golfers playing from the 20th to the 21st, before playing against amateur golfers in the finals on the 22nd. The tournament will attract other people from outside Harare and Zimbabwe and those with Covid-19 vaccination certificates or negative results will be allowed to attend and participate.