Cure Kids teams up with All Blacks to make a difference

Monday 8 August 2016

Cure Kids teams up with All Blacks to make a difference for kiwi kids

Cure Kids, New Zealand’s leading non-government funder of child health research, today launched a new campaign, in partnership with NZ Rugby and the All Blacks, to raise awareness for the need to invest in medical research to improve health outcomes for Kiwi kids.

The campaign, ‘Everyone knows someone who needs a cure’, which features a combination of All Blacks and Cure Kids child ambassadors, is about getting New Zealanders to make personal connections between the crucial research that Cure Kids funds and the difference it makes in the lives children and young people they know.

Around one in 7 children take medication for asthma;
1 in 4 experience a significant mental health issue;
100 die from inherited heart conditions each year;
this year alone, 450 children will develop epilepsy;
and 1 in 30 lives with a congenital malformation.
Cure Kids CEO, Frances Benge, said “no other NGO in New Zealand funds research across such a wide range of health areas and almost every New Zealander should be able to identify a child or young person in their family or community who needs a cure or better treatment for a serious health condition.”

Ms Benge highlighted that outcomes for children born with cystic fibrosis today compared to only a few decades ago presented a compelling case for the direct impact research can have:

“Four decades ago, a child born with cystic fibrosis had a life expectancy of only 8 – 10 years. Now, as a result of world-leading research programmes in both diagnostics and treatment, the average life expectancy is 37+ years and climbing”, said Ms Benge.

“This is in no small part a result of the incredible work of some of the world’s top scientists, in particular Professor Bob Elliott, the founder of Cure Kid, beginning with his work into discovering a means of using a blood test (the heel prick test in newborns) to diagnose babies born with cystic fibrosis. This meant vital early treatment could be administered before irreversible scarring of the lungs occurred”.

Cure Kids is the official charity of the All Blacks and players Ben Smith, Julian Savea and Damien MacKenzie star in the campaign alongside Cure Kids Ambassadors, Eva, Kemper and Finn, who all live with serious health conditions.

NZ Rugby CEO Steve Tew said New Zealand Rugby was proud to partner with Cure Kids, an organisation that works so hard to find the cures for illnesses affecting Kiwi kids.

“We hope New Zealanders get on board and support this campaign because research into these illnesses is crucial. Almost everyone knows a family who is affected by a disease that needs a cure and we can all relate to Cure Kids work.”

How Kiwis can help

Tape up an arm with the name of someone you know who needs a cure and share photos on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or other social media channels
Post the pictures using the hashtags #Curekids and #ConnecttotheCure and include a link to the Cure Kids Facebook page or website www.curekids.org.nz/connect
Encourage people you know to connect to the cure by showing their support
Make a donation to Cure Kids and get involved with Red Nose Day 2016 on 18 November
The campaign will run from 8 August through to Cure Kids’ Annual Red Nose Day event on 18 November.

ENDS

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