Sandals Foundation provides more funding for Sickkids Caribbean Initiative

President of Sandals Foundation, Adam Stewart, recently made another contribution of CA$50,000 to the Sickkids Caribbean Initiative in Montego Bay, Jamaica, to reaffirm Sandals’ commitment and to add to the already CA$1 million raised by the foundation to help with the research of pediatric cancer.

“I am honored to present this check…as an indication of Sandals Foundation continued commitment to supporting the health of our region’s most vulnerable and loved ones our children,” Stewart commented. “The experience of an international network when it comes to diagnosis and treating pediatric cancer and serious blood disorders helps save lives,” he added.

The Sickkids Foundation’s President and CEO, Jennifer Bernard, said that since SickKids started its Caribbean arm of the Center for Global Child Health in 2013, the SickKids Caribbean Initiative has impacted more than 133,000 children. “Our partnership with Sandals Foundation re-enforces our commitment to improving the lives of children diagnosed with cancer and blood disorder across the Caribbean,” she added.

The Center for Global Child Health – Sickkids Caribbean Initiative is an organization committed to improving health care and the well-being of children around the world. This is done through its medical training, advanced research, technologies, and health professionals who focus on transforming the outcome of a prognosis on a child who is diagnosed with cancer or blood disorder. Their objective is to connect the ailing kids with medical experts from membership nations to bring about good health through their research and consultations.

Against this background and in understanding the incidences and the burden that come along with childhood cancer, the Center for Global Child Health – Sickkids Caribbean Initiative provides a resolute team to work with the children who are diagnosed.

Most of the study and work are conducted at the University of Toronto in Canada in collaboration with the Center for Global Child Health. It does this by bringing together several educational programs and training opportunities for medical experts who are pursuing full-time research work after the completion of a PhD., an M. D. degree, or a health professional degree at the University of Toronto. Once these medical professionals have completed their work in Canada, they return to their home countries and continue the work for sick kids in areas of medical research, medical care and technology.

Medical experts from six Caribbean nations are already participating in the Sickkids Caribbean Initiative. The nations are the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Children who are diagnosed by the Sickkids Caribbean Initiative medical professionals, are cared for in their respective countries at the pediatric department of a local hospital or at a local children’s hospital. The resources are impactful and are gained through an international network team, which helps determine the prognosis.

The Sandals Foundation has been a dedicated and loyal supporter to the Sickkids Caribbean Initiative since its inception in 2013. Throughout these years, the foundation has helped provide funds to work with advanced research, and the treatment of pediatric cancer and blood abnormalities such as sickle cell in children throughout the Caribbean.