The Financial Impact of COVID-19 on Families
According to research from consumer credit reporting agency, TransUnion, in April 2020, almost eight in 10 South Africans say their household income has been cut by the Covid-19 pandemic, while one in ten had already lost their jobs. An additional 7 percent of South African adults expect their household income will suffer in the future. Source: https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/economy/south-africas-household-income-drastically-decreased-by-covid-19-46782643
The Financial Impact of Undergoing Treatment
The diagnosis of cancer in a child is likely to have a dramatic impact on a family’s finances. Medical care today is extremely expensive and the costs of treatment continue to rise. Families might also find that their income is affected by having to take unpaid leave or be away from work for extended periods of time while their child receives treatment.
There are also many hidden costs of treatment, including extra travelling to a hospital far from your home, and possible accommodation and meals for parents while the child is in hospital.
We believe that every person, especially children suffering from cancer and life-threatening blood disorders everywhere, should have access to quality, specialised health services without suffering financial hardship.
CHOC offers free support to families of children and teens with cancer and life-threatening blood disorders through various programmes. This is all made possible through corporate sponsorship as well as donations from groups and individuals wanting to make a difference in the lives of children with cancer.
ACCOMMODATION
Families of children fighting cancer should not have to worry about a place to sleep during their child’s lengthy treatment.
CHOC has 13 home-away-from-home accommodation facilities close to the specialised treatment centres across South Africa to accommodate out-of-town patients and a parent/caregiver during the lengthy cancer treatment phase.
Help CHOC to accommodate children and teenagers with cancer.
- Visit https://choc.org.za/product/choc-accommodation/ to donate.
- Find out more about our accommodation programme here: https://choc.org.za/choc-accommodation-houses/
TRANSPORT ASSISTANCE
No child should be excluded from accessing and adhering to treatment.
Successful treatment of the children requires that they come into the specialised treatment centres many times over a period of up to three or more years. For many families, this obviously imposes a large financial burden. CHOC’s transport programme relieves the financial burden, particularly in the case of low-income families who live far from treatment centres. We offer transportation through a fleet of CHOC vehicles and transport finance assistance to ensure that children complete their treatment cycle.
Help our children who are fighting cancer and need to travel to hospital and home again for life-saving treatment and follow-up visits.
- Visit https://choc.org.za/product/choc-transport/ to donate.
- Find out more about our transport programme here: https://choc.org.za/choc-transport-programme/
Find out More
Contact us to find out more about getting involved with CHOC, or to request more information.
To find out more about how CHOC supports children and teens with cancer, and their families, visit https://choc.org.za/choc-programmes-we-offer/
To get involved with CHOC, visit https://choc.org.za/support-choc/
