The ManicaPost
Health Reporter
ZIMPAPERS as part of its corporate social responsibility will tomorrow (Saturday) hold its first ever ‘Cancer Power Walk’ as it pushes to raise awareness about cancer.Cancer has become a serious cause of concern in the country with many people dying due to different forms of cancer in recent years.
Recently Government called for an integrated HIV and Cancer response upon the realisation that there is need to seriously address challenges posed by cancer. There are also some links between the two conditions which call for an integrated response.
The Zimpapers Cancer Power Walk comes at a time when the world has just been commemorating Breast Cancer Month in October.
November is Men’s Health Awareness Month which means the opportunity to reach out to men and women around health remains. The walk by the fully integrated media house forms part of a running campaign which saw the company entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with Island Hospice in an effort to raise awareness about cancer.
Zimpapers Public Relations and Corporate Affairs Manager, Ms Beatrice Tonhodzayi, said the media giant adopted the cancer cause following a realisation that there was need to educate the public about cancer.
“Cancer has become a big issue. People are dying of cancer like never before. While society has become a bit more conscious of cancers such as breast and cervical cancer; there are also cancers which affect men and some which affect children. There is need to speak about them too and make sure people know as much as they can about them to allow for prevention where possible as well as early diagnosis which increases chances of survival.
“We are told that our lifestyle choices today pre-dispose us to some of these conditions. Hence through this 5km walk, we are saying let us come together and encourage each other to live healthier lives. By participating in this walk, we are actually participating in a healthy lifestyle choice,” she said.
The walk will start at Old Hararians Sports Club with registration at 5.30am, while the actual will start at 6am. Participants will follow a designated route and go back to Old Hararians where other sessions like zumba and health checks; including HIV testing, BP testing and diabetes checks will be conducted.
The Zimpapers Cancer Power Walk will be open to adults of all ages, race and creed. Island Hospice, National Aids Council, Tingamira, Beta Bricks, Eye Institute and MARS are some of the organisations that have partnered Zimpapers in this initiative.
Zimpapers’ Group’s own business units such as Star FM, the National Printing and Packaging Company (Natprint) and Harare Branch which houses brands like The Herald, The Sunday Mail, Kwayedza, H Metro and others are also running with this campaign.
Papers like The Sunday Mail, The Manica Post and Sunday News have been running cancer columns as a way of raising awareness about this condition.
Ms Tonhodzayi called on other corporates, health service providers and individuals to participate in the walk, adding that Cancer Month is commemorated to encourage the prevention and treatment of cancer.
“We invite our policy makers, business leaders, fathers, mothers, advertisers, readers, listeners and the Zimpapers family to participate in this walk, our very own walk for cancer. We have lost loved ones to cancer. We even have many people among us who are living with cancer. It is time we all took this seriously.
Let us walk for the cause and raise some funds for cancer initiatives while at it. We have to place the limelight on cancer and all lifestyle conditions,” she said.
Lifestyle diseases that are posing problems include cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma and others have become leading killers of people in today’s highly stressful environment.
