The Airtel Kabaka Run To Take Place This Sunday

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Sickle Cells testing already ongoing across Kampala

Testing to continue until Sunday during the Kabaka Run

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The 2019 Airtel Kabaka run continues to build up across the country, title sponsors and Buganda Kingdom long-term partner Airtel Uganda has added to their initial contribution with a UGX 4,000,000 contribution from their staff members.

The contribution was handed over by the Airtel Uganda Head of Brand and Communication Ms. Remmie Kisakye on behalf of the employees.

Speaking during the handover, Kisakye noted that Airtel Uganda’s contribution to this prestigious run goes beyond the 6-year partnership Airtel has with the Buganda kingdom.

“We are happy to hand over our contribution to the Airtel Kabaka Run is at an individual level. We believe in the progress that has been made through testing and creating extended awareness for this blood disorder,” she stated.

Airtel Uganda Corporate Social Responsibility Manager Mrs. Charity R. Bukenya commended all the Ugandans who have taken time to go to the different sickle cells testing areas and finding out their situation.

“This year, we have created an avenue to have participants and all beneficiaries of our message to come out in droves and test for the sickle cell disease trait. We have pitched tents at Airtel Towers, Airtel Bugolobi, Mukono Health Center 5, and at Bulange Mengo gardens and we intend to remain there until the Kabaka Run. We shall also be testing at the venue on Sunday, so please come and get yourself tested free of charge,” she noted.

Airtel Uganda hands over UGX200M for Sickle Cells Advocacy

Funds will be used to purchase 80,000 sickle cells screening kits

Airtel Uganda handed over UGX 200,000,000 to the Central Public Health Laboratories (CPHL) to bolster their efforts in eliminating the sickle cells disease in Uganda by procuring 80,000 sickle cells screening kits and extending the ongoing awareness campaign to more parts of the country.

The funds that were handed over at a brief ceremony held at the Buganda palace in Mengo, were proceeds from the 2018 Kabaka Run which attracted more than 40,000 participants. In attendance were officials from Airtel Uganda led by Airtel Uganda Managing Director Mr. V.G. Somasekhar and the Buganda kingdom team led by the Katikkiro Owek, Charles Peter Mayigga.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Somasekhar said, “We are honored to once again contribute towards the eradication of sickle cells disease in Uganda by handing over UGX 200, 000,000 to the Central Public Health Laboratory.”

“The increase in the number of Kabaka Run participants signifies that Ugandans appreciate the contribution that this initiative is making to their communities. We therefore thank the Bugandan Kingdom for giving us this unique opportunity to improve health standards in Uganda and providing affordable healthcare to our customers,” he added.

Owek. Charles Peter Mayigga, the Katikkiro of Buganda Kingdom thanked Airtel Uganda for their unwavering support of the Buganda Kingdom activities.

“Airtel Uganda has been our reliable partner in this journey. We started with fistula and Kitovu hospital greatly benefitted and now we are on Sickle Cells. I encourage all Ugandans to use this opportunity to have themselves checked out and know whether they are carriers of this serious disease. This will be the only way we will eradicate it for good,” he noted.

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder in which the body creates sickle-shaped red blood cells, which affect blood flow in cells and organs causing pain and organ damage. Last year, proceeds from 2017 Airtel Birthday Run helped purchase 60,000 Sickle cells screening Kits that were handed to the Ministry of Health to help in screening of people in different communities.

The districts with the highest sickle cells prevalence rates are Kampala, Gulu, Lira, Jinja, Tororo, Luweero, Wakiso, Apac, Iganga, Mayuge, Buikwe, Oyam, Masaka and Masindi.

Airtel Uganda and Buganda Kingdom Officially launch the 2018 Kabaka Run.

Focus on the fight against Sickle cells.

Following a highly successful 2017 Kabaka Birthday Run, Airtel Uganda has today announced its sponsorship of the 2018 Kabaka Birthday Run that will be held on Sunday 8th April 2018 at Bulange in Mengo.

In line with the three – year theme announced last year – Fight against Sickle Cells, proceeds from the run will also be directed towards fighting the sickle cells disease in Uganda.
Last year, Airtel Uganda, in partnership with the Buganda Kingdom, handed over 60,000 sickle cell testing kits, bought from the proceeds of the Kabaka Birthday Run 2017, to the administration of The Uganda National Health Laboratory Services to enable them carry out conclusive testing for the prevalent disease. The kits would allow over 120,000 people to test for the sickle cells disease free of charge.

Commenting about the sponsorship, Airtel Uganda Managing Director Mr. V.G. Somasekhar noted that Corporate Social Responsibility is very central to Airtel and is an integral pillar of the business.

“Through our partnership with the Buganda Kingdom, we have been able to change the lives individuals and communities in Uganda. This year, we intend to continue this life changing work by collecting funds that will be used to educate Ugandans about sickle cells, enable proper treatment of patients and fund research into how best we can contain it,” he stated.
Somasekhar added that besides Kabaka Run, Airtel Uganda has been involved in other successful CSR programmes like Together we can which won the Best CSR campaign award 2017 and Adopt a school which focuses on the transformation of dilapidated schools to provide a better learning environment. Various health camps across the country offering free medical services to underprivileged communities have also been held in partnership with the Ministry of Health among other partners.

The Katikkiro of Buganda, Owek. Charles Peter Mayigga thanked Airtel Uganda and other partners; such as the Ministry of Health in the Central Government and Uganda Sickle Cell Foundation, for their sponsorship, which has brought awareness and funding to illnesses that have dominated Uganda for many years.
“First, we worked together to tackle fistula and now we are focusing on sickle cells. With strategic and consistent partners such as Airtel Uganda, we shall win the fight against these sicknesses that are claiming lives of very many Ugandans,” he commented.

The Kabaka run – an annual event celebrated to mark the King’s birthday – is part of a partnership that the telecommunications giant has with the Buganda Kingdom to sponsor four of their most important activities; the Kabaka’s birthday Run, Kabaka’s birthday celebration, the Kabaka’s coronation as well as Eid El Fitri. Airtel Uganda also sponsors the Masaza Cup – the Buganda kingdom football tournament.

The run will be held on 8th April 2018 and participants will be flagged off in Lubiri Mengo by His Majesty the Kabaka for the 5km, 10kms and 21km routes.

Airtel Uganda and Buganda Kingdom handover Shs.110,000,000 to the Central Public Health Laboratory in the fight to end Sickle Cells

 

Airtel Uganda together with the Buganda Kingdom have handed over Shs.110,000,000/- (One hundred and ten million shillings) that was collected during the Kabaka Birthday Run 2017  as a contribution towards the fight to end Sickle cells in Uganda .

The handover to the Central Public Health Laboratory under the Ministry of Health was graced by Buganda Kingdom officials led by the Buganda Kingdom Prime Minister Owek. Charles Peter Mayiga and the Buganda Kingdom Minister of Sports Owek. Sekabembe Henry, alongside Airtel Uganda team headed by Chief Commercial Officer Mr. Deepak Bhatia.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Mr. Bhatia said, “We are so honored and proud to partner with the Buganda Kingdom in the fight to put an end to Sickle cells in the country.”

“This partnership is Airtel’s commitment to working with various stakeholders to improve health standards in Uganda and providing affordable healthcare to our customers through investing in passion points that connect our customers such as the annual Kabaka Birthday Run,” he added.

“I would like to thank and recognize all Airtel Uganda customers, fellow sponsors, the media as well as the general public who showed support to those suffering from sickle cells by coming and participating in the 2017 Kabaka Run” he concluded

Buganda Kingdom Katikiro, Owek Peter Mayiga thanked Airtel Uganda for their support in this fight and praised them for always coming out strongly to show support to Ugandans on the social causes that are very important to society development.

“I encourage my fellow Ugandans who have been affected by this scourge of Sickle Cells in one way or another to support each other and seek medical help and be consistent in their treatments as partners like Airtel come together with the Kingdom of Buganda to put an end to this disease,” he concluded.

According to the Ministry of Health, over 25,000 babies are born each year with sickle cell disease and over 80% die before their 5th birthday contributing to 15% infant mortality, 13.3% of the total population have Sickle cell traits.

Buganda Kingdom Move to Digitalising the 2017 Edition of the Kabakas Birthday Run in partnership with Og money

The Buganda Kingdom has this year partnered with One Global, a leader in digital innovations operating across 17 Countries in Africa and the middle East through its flagship product og money to simplify the process of accessing tickets to the 2017 edition of the Kabaka Run.

The people of Buganda will benefit from this addition, given the fast track growth in mobile transaction in the country. By March 2016, mobile money transaction hit 32.5 trillions and the region also recorded a $45.75 billion transaction through mobile transaction.  TBuganda Kingdom Move to Digitalising the 2017 Edition of the Kabakas Birthday Run in partnership with Og money.

The kingdom is most likely to reap big through its partnership with Og money, which uniquely positions itself as a single secure platform for all digital financial services. The og money application can be downloaded here: http://www.oneglobal.com

The Kabakas birthday run, which normally attracts thousands of Ugandans and Buganda loyalist is annually staged to commemorate the Birthday of His Majesty Ssabasajja Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.

The Kabakas birthday run for the last three years was carried out under the theme, “Fight against fistula” and this year, support will be rendered to sickle cell patients.

Sickle cell pupils from Our Lady of Africa Luwero 

In his speech, the Katikkiro of Buganda, Charles Peter Mayiga  pointed out the lack of awareness among the population has been the major factor leading to the spread of diseases. The strongest and most dangerous of the factors is lack of awareness.

“For example, HIV AIDS when it first appeared in the early 1980s around Masaka-Kyotera areas of Uganda, it was attributed to witchcraft, and the witch doctors pretended to diagnose what was afflicting a big number of young people then. In a similar vain for many people in this country, the sickle cell culprits are off springs of parents with what people term, bad blood or those who are cast. This is because they are not aware, that is the level at which they can reason out things.” Mr. Mayiga added

 

The kingdom is excited about the new partnership with og money and ready to leverage on the 900,000 people already using the application. The application is IOS and Android compatible and can be downloaded using this link: http://www.oneglobal.com.

Download it now and join the Kingdom of Buganda in the fight against sickle cell by following easy steps that will enable you pay 10,000 and recieve a kit for the marathon.

Airtel Uganda, Buganda Kingdom Join Fight Against Sickle Cells

 

 

 

• 2017 Kabaka Run themed “Fight Against Sickle Cells”

 

Airtel Uganda has, once again, come on board as a platinum sponsor for the 2017 Kabaka Run as part of their three-year partnership with the Buganda Kingdom to sponsor four of the kingdom’s most important activities; the Kabaka’s birthday Run, Kabaka’s birthday celebration, the Kabaka’s coronation as well as Eid El Fitri.

During the press conference held this morning at the Kingdom offices in Mengo, the Katikkiro of Buganda Owek. Charles Peter Mayigga also announced that for the next three years, emphasis will be placed on sickle cell awareness under the theme FIGHT AGAINST SICKLE CELLS. This cause has brought new strategic partners on board which include the Ministry of Health in the Central Government and Uganda Sickle Cell Foundation – an NGO with an aim of raising sickle cell awareness in the country.

According to the Ministry of Health over 25,000 babies are born each year with sickle cell disease and over 80% die before their 5^th birthday contributing to 15% infant mortality, 13.3% of the total population have Sickle cell traits and 21% are within the Buganda region, It’s against this background that the Kingdom has made a decision to dedicate this run to this cause and create awareness.

Speaking at the press conference, Airtel Uganda Managing Director Mr. Anwar Soussa commended the Buganda Kingdom for always coming up with causes and activities that positively impact Ugandans.

“At Airtel Uganda, we pride ourselves on creating impactful partnerships which ultimately benefit the community we work in. This is the reason as to why we are very proud to partner with the Buganda Kingdom every year in order to make a difference, not just here in Buganda but in the entire country,” he said.

Commenting about the new theme, Soussa noted that “By sponsoring such a noble cause, we are hopeful that we shall educate Ugandans about sickle cells and increase on the funds to enable proper treatment of patients and research into how best we can contain it.”

The run will be held on the 9^th April 2017 flagged off in Lubiri Mengo by His Majesty the Kabaka; this will have the 5km, 10kms and 21km routes.