'La Marató' annual telethon raises €5.7m for sexual and reproductive health
Charity drive from Catalan public broadcaster aimed to reduce stigma around problems that affect mainly women and young people
'La Marató', the annual pre-Christmas telethon from Catalan public broadcaster 3Cat, raised €5,705,395 for sexual and reproductive health on Sunday.
Every year, viewers are invited to donate money towards a different health-related cause, with this year's theme aiming to make problems and diseases that particularly affect women and young people more visible, and to break taboos and reduce stigma around sexual and reproductive health.
The €5.7m is expected to rise in the coming weeks and months as donations can be made until March 31, 2024.
Events were held around Catalonia on Sunday as part of 'La Marató,' including survivors and health experts sharing their experiences and knowledge.
On of the novelties for this 32nd edition of the annual fundraiser was a concert for young people at Fòrum de Barcelona, with performances from artists such as The Tyets, Figa Flawas, Mushka and Julieta.
Mental health, Covid-19, rare diseases
Each year, organizers choose a different area of medical research to raise money for. In 2022, the annual telethon raised over €8m for cardiovascular diseases, while the previous year over €9m was raised for mental health.
In 2020, over €10m was raised for research on Covid-19, and in previous years La Marató focused on rare diseases, cancer and infectious diseases.
Before the latest edition, organizers said that since 1992, 'La Marató' has raised more than €236m. Funds from donations have enabled the financing of 985 research projects carried out by 1,639 teams with the involvement of 9,674 researchers.