Lalla Salma Foundation Celebrates 10 Years

Congratulations are due to Princess Lalla Salma for her work in the struggle against cancer. Since its inception in 2005 the Lalla Salma Foundation has made the fight against cancer a public health priority in Morocco. During these ten years the Foundation has provided significant efforts to improve the care of patients and give them new hope

Princess Lalla Salma visiting an oncology centre

On Saturday, for the tenth anniversary, HRH Princess Lalla Salma chaired a gala night in Marrakech. Under the title of  "A gift for life" the gala dinner raised 150 million dirhams.

The funds will be dedicated to the creation of an oncology centre in Beni Mellal. In a speech, HRH Princess Lalla Salma said: "The cancer centre will allow mothers to heal, fathers to continue to support their families and children to regain their health and continue their normal life to build a better future."

Since its inception in 2005 the Foundation has assisted cancer patients treated in public cancer centres giving them have access to 100% of available anticancer drugs. Over that time 1.2 billion dirhams has been raised for the purchase of medicines.

The Foundation also conducted several awareness campaigns and prevention to encourage Moroccans to be more attentive to their bodies and to get tested before it is too late.

Through education programmes 1.5 million college students and high school students have been made aware of cancer and each year 1 million women are screened and 200,000 patients receive medical attention.

The oncology centre at the  Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Mohammed VI in Marrakech 

The Foundation has worked hard to alleviate the suffering of patients and significantly improve conditions for their care through the creation of several health facilities including twenty-four early detection centres. Thirteen new centres are in the planning stage.

Six mobile units have been established, nine new specialty hospitals have been built and four others are in preparation. The creation of accommodation houses in several cities of the Kingdom has helped to ease the burden of patients by hosting with their families during the period of outpatient treatment. These structures provide patients regular monitoring of their treatment and accompany patients by providing them the necessary moral and psychological support.

In cancer research, 14 research projects have been funded to date. In terms of training related to the fight against cancer, the Foundation has trained 500 health professionals during the past decade.

The Lalla Salma Foundation is currently considered a pioneer in the fight against cancer in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa (MEA) through the leadership role played by HRH Princess Lalla Salma internationally.

SHARE THIS!