Amazon joins hands with Make-A-Wish to support children with cancer in the UAE

Amazon has joined hands with Make-A-Wish to support children with cancer in the UAE. For Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September, Amazon partnered with Make-A-Wish to grant wishes to children with cancer, utilising its size to help the community. As part of the global Amazon Goes Gold campaign, the firm is also conducting an employee involvement programme throughout the month to increase awareness for the cause.

Amazon is assisting children enduring cancer treatment by working with Make-A-Wish® UAE, an organisation that works to enhance the lives of children with severe diseases. Amazon Goes Gold helps finance paediatric cancer research around the world. Since 2017, the company has donated more than $11 million to over 150 paediatric oncology programmes throughout the world, and in 2021, it will provide more than $5 million to seven premier cancer research institutions around the world.

Prashant Saran, Director of Operations for Amazon MENA said: “As part of Amazon’s long-standing commitment to work alongside local community partners to do good every day, we are determined to make better, do better, and be better for our customers, our employees, and the world at large. Success and scale bring broad responsibility, and our partnership with Make-a-Wish UAE enables us to help bring smiles to the faces of children who are battling cancer. At Amazon, we lead with empathy, educating and empowering our employees with the knowledge required to make a difference.”

Hani Al Zubaidi, Chief Executive Officer of Make-a-Wish® UAE said: “We exist for one reason: to grant magical wishes to enrich the lives of children,including those suffering from cancer. Cancer remains the number one cause of death by disease for children, and we are proud to work with Amazon to make little ones’ wishes possible.”

As part of #AmazonGoesGold, hundreds of Amazon employees in the UAE are honouring Childhood Cancer Awareness Month by raising awareness about paediatric cancer and encouraging others to join the fight. Amazonians honoured cancer sufferers by wearing a golden ribbon in September, the international emblem for all forms of cancer affecting children and adolescents. Furthermore, Amazon’s Gold Quiz was created to dispel prevalent misunderstandings that may inhibit children with cancer from integrating into society. The quiz also offered information on international organisations’ attempts to discover a cure and boost survival rates.

Every year, around 400 000 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer, making it the leading non-communicable illness killer of children worldwide. In 2017, the Amazon Goes Gold campaign was started to raise awareness of paediatric cancer and cash for cutting-edge research in the field.