JUST IN: Speaker Among Joins Centenary Bank in Fighting Cancer by Pledging 1Bn Ugx to Rotary

The Rt. Hon. Speaker of parliament Anita Among has pledged a one Billion Ugx to the cancer rotary club of Kampala purposed at the campaign for the fight against cancer through a cancer run initiative. 

On Wednesday in kampala, the call, brought to efforts by the Centenary Bank Uganda in partnership with Harris International and the parliament of Uganda aims at fundraising 4bn through among others the buying of cancer kits for a scheduled 25th  August nationwide cancer run, the 13th rotary cancer run. Involving 40 districts and various towns across Uganda.

The  theme for this year's cancer run is , " Spread Magic in Every Step."

The speaker, invited as the chief guest at St. Francis Hospital Nsambya also described on her X fromerly Twitter space that today she had the privilege of presiding over the launch of the 13th Rotary Cancer Run. The goal of this event is to raise 4 billion shillings to build a radiotherapy centre at Nsambya Hospital, which will significantly improve cancer treatment in Uganda.  She as well expressed her gratitude to the former Speaker of parliament, Rt Hon. Rebecca Kadaga for initiating Parliament's support for the cancer institute at Nsambya Hospital. "I would also like to commend all the organizations that have joined this noble cause and urge others to follow suit," she noted.

"This year, the run aims to double the number of participants from 30,000  to 60,000 as of 2023- 2024 respectively. This will translate to doubling last year's collections to UGX 4 billion shillings, a substantial contribution towards the required 13.8 billion shillings for the completion of the radiotherapy center at Nsambya," said Rtn. Michael Niyitegeka, Chair of the Cancer Run 2024.

On behalf of centenary Bank Uganda, the Managing Director Mr. Fabian Kasi highlighted in his speech that the presence of Centenary Group’s philanthropic arm and  the Centenary Foundation, through which they achieve broader corporate social responsibility efforts was available. "I am glad to note that they welcomed this activity and have supported it. Our collaboration with Rotary on the Cancer Run is one of our key initiatives that has run for 13 years now. This underscores our dedication to improving the lives of our community members through impactful health interventions."

He added , over the past 13 years, the Rotary Cancer Run has been a pivotal player in the fight against cancer in Uganda. The collective efforts have significantly contributed various milestones as presented by previous speakers, notably, is the construction works for modern cancer treatment centres right at Nsabya hospital.  These contributions have not only expanded the infrastructure but also increased accessibility to crucial cancer treatment and care for thousands of Ugandans.

Kasi however noted , the cancer scourge is still a threat across the world. The diagnosis rates of cancer continue to rise, emphasizing the need for our continued vigour in combating this disease. Recent data from the Uganda Cancer Institute shows that Uganda alone registers around 33,000 new cancer cases every year.

Unfortunately, 60% of these patients die because the cancer is reported in the late stages. Part of the reason for this high percentage is also attributed to limited access to cancer care centres, especially in the remote areas.

"If we had these treatment centres spread across the country, maybe the story would be different, the chances of survival would be higher. Nsambya hospital here is a beacon of hope, more patients are receiving timely and effective cancer treatment, which significantly improves their chances of survival, but I will say, we still need to do more."

This year, centenary is back again asking for more support with an ambitious target of Ugx. 4bn. Centenary Bank, together with the Centenary Foundation, is contributing 300 million Ugandan shillings towards this noble cause. This contribution reflects our commitment to not only the fight against cancer but to the welfare of the Ugandan people at large.