Cervical Cancer Screening - International Women's Day Event

Today, in recognition of International Women's Day on March 8th, Hope for Korah took part in a national movement by the Ministry of Health to screen women for cervical cancer.

This was a big event which included many INGOs and organizations such as lCAP Global Health, CDC, Pathfinder International, PEPFAR, and others. In Ethiopia, cervical cancer is the second largest cancer leading to death, next to breast cancer. Over 5,000 Ethiopian women lose their lives every year to cervical cancer. The biggest challenge for many is not getting treatment early enough. Many Ethiopian women are not aware of the importance of being tested and do have not access to the test. Currently there are 900 government health care centers that are equipped to give this service and through events such as today, the Ministry of Health is hoping to increase awareness and accessibility to this important health screening so that more women's lives will be saved.

Earlier this week, in preparation for today's event, Hope for Korah asked the local Woreda Health Office and one of their doctors to meet with our women and explain to them the purpose and importance of cervical cancer screening. So, to follow up, and in honour of International Women's Day, both today and tomorrow we have arranged for transportation to take any one of our women who are interested, to a pre-arranged appointment we have made at two of the cancer screening health offices.

This is new territory for most of our women and as many have not been screened before, their lack of education and fear of the unknown can lead to a decision against testing. This is something we must continue to teach our women about and we are so proud of each one who is willing to learn, and to move out of their comfort zone, to take this very important step in caring for themselves and their own health.