The Minister for Health has announced that 164 sunshades will be built in public areas and sports club as part of the Government’s Community Shade Grants Program.
The Minister, Jenny Mikakos said community organisations would share in almost $1 million from the fourth funding round of the program.
“The grants are made available for community groups to construct new shade structures, purchase portable shade, plant natural shade, repair an existing shade, purchase sun protective items or any combination of the five,” Ms Mikakos said.
“Shade structures are the best defense and can reduce overall exposure to UV radiation by up to 75 per cent,” she said.
Ms Mikakos said Australia had the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, with two in three people diagnosed by the age of 70.
“In 2017, 270 Victorians died from melanoma and almost 3,000 people were diagnosed with invasive melanomas – making it the fourth most common cancer across the state,” she said.
Ms Mikakos said the Community Shade Grants Program was complemented by the School Shade Grant program, which provided shade for Victorian government schools and formed part of the Government’s ambitious Victorian Cancer Plan 2016-20 which set a target of saving 10,000 lives from cancer over one decade.
