The Rebecca Foundation together with the Ghana Health Service and Roche Ghana yesterday launched a project on Capacity building for Breast and Cervical Cancer in Ghana. The aim is to build the capacity of primary healthcare workers to enable them to detect and treat these cancers early. As part of this project, over 90 health workers will be trained.
The project will take place in three districts across three regions namely Eastern, Savannah and Ashanti. District Hospitals within these implementing districts (Birim South, West Gonja and Sekyere West) will be equipped with Thermal Coagulation Machines to enable them initiate cervical cancer treatment at their level.
Speaking at the Launch, H.E. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, founder of the Rebecca Foundation and the First Lady of the country, indicated that effective screening and treatment of Breast and Cervical Cancers have accounted for an increased survival rate in more advanced countries and called on stakeholders to support in scaling up the training and sensitization in the implementing districts.
In 2020, Ghana recorded about 4,400 cases of Breast cancer and 2,797 cases of Cervical cancer. The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye on his part, attributed this to lack of awareness of the diseases and inadequate screening and treatment sites. He added that efforts to address this challenge have been made at the National level with the launch of the Non-Communicable Disease Policy and its accompanying Steering Committee. Present at the launch was the Programme Manager for the Non-Communicable Disease Program, Dr. Efua Commeh, and representatives from Roche Ghana.
SOURCE: PR UNIT
November 21, 2022
