The KidStrong Campaign is BACK!

Pfizer Malaysia announced their commitment to continue their successful KidStrong Campaign and raise awareness on Pneumococcal Disease by embarking on the second phase of their initiative together with the Malaysian Official Design Association (MODA), the Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP) and a new retail partner, Sunway Pyramid, Malaysia.

From Left: Dato’ Dr. Musa Mohd Nordin, Founding Member of Asia Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP), Ananti Rajasingam Chief Operations Officer of Yayasan Chow Kit, Gillian Hung, President of MODA, Samuel the Super Cape Kid, Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail, the Chairman of Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP), Noor Yang Azwar Kamarudin, Director of Corporate Affairs, Health & Value of Pfizer Malaysia and Ms. Loo Hoey Theen, Marketing Director of Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall showcase the KidStrong merchandise 

The KidStrong Campaign, which features a superhero theme, aims at increasing awareness that children can be protected from pneumococcal disease, and uses a superhero cape as a symbol of protection that every child has the right to be protected.

As part of the KidStrong mission to continue to create awareness on Pneumococcal Disease and reach the masses with their message of protection, KidStrong Phase II reveals plans to bring KidStrong Superhero merchandise to life where KidStrong themed baby rompers and baby swaddles will be available to the public through a charitable for purchase.

A hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of these merchandise will benefit Yayasan Chow Kit (YCK) organization, a 24-hour crisis and drop-in centre that provides protection to for high risk children with low immunity living off the streets of Chow Kit.

 

Dato’ Dr. Musa Mohd Nordin, Founding Member of Asia Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP) explained that children can be protected against Pneumococcal disease through vaccination.

 

KidStrong Phase I was initially launched in conjunction with World Pneumonia Day in November 2014 using the unique approach of combining fashion design and disease awareness to educate the public on Pneumococcal Disease in a fun, engaging and relatable way for children and parents alike. The campaign focused on highlighting the importance of being protected against the disease encouraging parents to learn more about the importance of immunization and how all children should have access to protection against this silent killer.

Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail, the Chairman of Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP) explained on the importance of protecting children against Pneumococcal Disease.

Present at the event was Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail, the Chairman of Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP) who was speaking on ASAP’s role in supporting the initiatives and the importance of protecting your children against Pneumococcal Disease.  

“Pneumococcal is the one of the main causes of mortality among children globally with an estimate of more than 900,000 deaths worldwide. The devastating fact is that it is actually vaccine-preventable! Immunisation is the most efficient and cost-effective way to protect children from this illness. We hope that through the continuation of this campaign we will be able to share this message with more parents in Malaysia. Don’t wait until it is too late, Pneumococcal Disease can lead to long-term problems or worse, fatality. Prevention is always better than cure.” Datuk Dr. Zulkifli urged.

 

World Health Organization considers Pneumococcal Disease the forgotten disease and the number one vaccine-preventable cause of death in the world with immunisation being arguably the most efficient and cost-effective way of reducing illness and death incidences. To date, 128 countries across the world have included this vaccine into their national immunisation programmes.

From left: Gillian Hung, President of MODA, Dato’ Dr. Musa Mohd Nordin, Founding Member of Asia Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP) and Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail, the Chairman of Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP) pose with children wearing superhero capes

 

In the previous campaign, 8 fresh, up and coming MODA designers unveiled exclusive one-of-a-kind superhero capes which represented their interpretation of what a cape of protection should look like. These designs were later featured in an all-children KidStrong Fashion Show as part of the campaigns efforts to bring relatable and easily understandable disease awareness to the public.
 
This year, the KidStrong merchandise will be made available to the public from 10^th to 21^st August and can be purchased at the Central Avenue at LG2 in Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall. KidStrong merchandise will feature both boy and girl baby rompers and swaddles in attractive superhero designs that were inspired by the KidStrong cape of protection superhero theme which emphasized the importance of protection against Pneumococcal Disease for a child to grow up to his or her full potential. The creation of these swaddles is aligned with the campaigns efforts to make the message of Pneumococcal Disease protection more accessible to the public and advocate for inclusion. 

Gillian Hung, President of MODA interprets the fashion designs of Superhero capes into ready-to-wear baby rompers and swaddles  

 

Enthusiastically commenting on the continuous collaboration with the KidStrong campaign, Gillian Hung, President of MODA said, “MODA is thrilled to be able to continue working together with Pfizer Malaysia on the KidStrong campaign.  This collaboration, which started last year, is the first ever between both the fashion and pharmaceutical industry and we are proud to be able to educate and engaged the public through our fashion show and design initiative, making it more relatable. Indeed, it’s been encouraging that the collaboration has been so impactful to the community. The designs you see today are inspired by the cape designs that were featured in our fashion show in April – we interpreted them into easy-to-wear and fun designs for babies – after all every child wants to be a superhero!”

Ms. Loo Hoey Theen, Marketing Director of Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall shared her enthusiasm on being on board as the retail partner for the campaign. “We at Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall are excited to be a part of such a beneficial campaign and do our part in creating disease awareness and reaching out to the public by sponsoring the location of KidStrong Phase II. It is indeed great that Sunway Pyramid shoppers will be able to be a part of this campaign and give back to those in need.”

 

Last year, the campaign successfully gained public support through a pledge collection where the public were encouraged to design their own interpretation of superhero capes, and for every design received, Pfizer Malaysia donated RM 5. The initiative managed to raise RM 20,000 and the proceeds were donated to the campaign beneficiary, OrphanCare Malaysia.

 

For Phase 2, the proceeds from the sales of the KidStrong merchandise will be donated to Yayasan Chow Kit (YCK), an organization focused on protecting the rights of all at-risk children and youth, providing them with a safe haven filled with positive and holistic opportunities. 

Noor Yang Azwar Kamarudin, Director of Corporate Affairs, Health & Value of Pfizer Malaysia gives her welcome speech.

 

 

Noor Yang Azwar Kamarudin, Director of Corporate Affairs, Health & Value spoke about KidStrong’s focus on giving back to children in need, “We are excited to continue this campaign with our new retail partner Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall and our long-time partners MODA and ASAP. This campaign proves that disease awareness is not a cause that is exclusive to the healthcare industry. With enthusiastic and committed partners, we can bring disease awareness to greater heights with a fun fashion element that relatable to all.”

 

"Last year, the KidStrong campaign revealed 8 innovative and imaginative cape designs as part of our public engagement – this year, we wanted to be able to make the designs accessible to the public and bring more disease awareness on ground. We are excited to be able to support Yayasan Chow Kit’s good work and positive impact to the community with proceeds from the KidStrong Merchandise. For us, it is important that the KidStrong Campaign continues to empower organizations who have committed their time and efforts into providing protection for children in need. I urge all shoppers to come by the exhibition center at Sunway, learn and get a gift of protection for a child you know.” she added.

Since its inception, the KidStrong Campaign has been focused on organizing charity engagements that not only create public awareness on the importance of protection against Pneumococcal Disease but to also give back to children who need this protection the most. The collaboration with both OrphanCare in Phase 1 and Yayasan Chow Kit in Phase 2 both emphasize KidStrong’s commitment to ensure that ALL children in Malaysia will have equal access to important live-saving protection.

 

The KidStrong merchandize will be available for purchase from 10^th to 21st August at Central Avenue, LG2, Sunway Pyramid.

 

The retail price of the baby rompers and swaddles in packaged price at RM20.00 per set and all proceeds with going to Yayasan Chow Kit.