Stronger national action is needed to address cervical cancer – CDA Consult

Mr Francis Ameyibor

The government and other stakeholders have been urged by the Executive Director of the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) Mr Francis Ameyibor to step up nationwide efforts to combat cervical cancer, particularly in lower-income areas.

He claimed that the pace at which the country has been fighting cervical cancer is alarmingly slow and that a more comprehensive approach to the issue is desperately needed.

Speaking to reporters in Accra on Wednesday, Mr. Ameyibor stated that CDA Consult has started a Cervical Cancer Prevention Change Paradigm Advocacy campaign in an attempt to mobilize everyone to address the issue.

Based in Tema, the CDA Consult is a non-governmental organization that advocates for development communication; its email address is [email protected].

The CDA Consult Cervical Cancer Prevention Change Paradigm Advocacy campaign is centered on responsive communication as a tool for attitudinal change advocacy for mass voluntary vaccination and encouragement of a healthy lifestyle.

It also aims to promote free cervical cancer vaccination and scale up prevention, detection, and treatment towards the elimination of cervical cancer in Ghana.

According to Mr. Ameyibor, the CDA Consult Cervical Cancer Prevention Change Paradigm Advocacy campaign also aims to dispel myths about cervical cancer screening, immunization, and treatment in order to have the greatest possible impact.

According to him, the advocacy for the CDA Consult Cervical Cancer Change Paradigm Advocacy also depends on primary prevention, which targets non-reactive individuals, as well as national prevention, detection, and treatment.

The goal of the CDA Consult Cervical Cancer Change Paradigm Advocacy is also to raise money for HPV vaccination programs in Ghana's low- and lower-middle-income areas.

Mr. Ameyibor pointed out that the effort also intends to modify policies and improve activities that focus on raising the status of community health workers and outreach workers and providing them with training so they can provide integrated services.

He pointed out that adolescents and young people have unique health care, sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as educational, developmental, and psychosocial requirements. As such, screening and treatment programs must be relevant to and accessible to them.

According to Mr. Ameyibor, statistics from throughout the world indicate that the odds of dying from cervical cancer are comparable to those of getting Ebola.

"The mortality rate for a woman with cervical cancer is approximately twice that of a woman with breast cancer. According to Mr. Ameyibor, women living with HIV are six times more likely than their HIV-negative counterparts to get cervical cancer.

The Executive Director of CDA Consult emphasized that these terrible figures are real. And the answers are, too. "If more people had access to HPV vaccines and cervical cancer screening and treatment, we can eradicate the worldwide epidemic in a generation, but there aren't enough resources for these essential programs.”

Data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) show that in 36 low- and middle-income countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, cervical cancer is the most frequent malignancy among women.

Mr. Ameyibor acknowledged the Eastern Regional Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) for joining the campaign and praised the National Insurance Commission for funding the project.

He also applauded the World Health Organisation, TogetHER for Health, the Biden Cancer Moonshot, and other national and international partners that have been combating cervical cancer.

He stated that Vanessa Bennett, Senior International Business Leader, Oncology Disease Area, Roche Diagnostics; Dr. Satish Gopal, Director, Centre for Global Health, National Cancer Institute; and Dr. Heather White, Executive Director of TogetHER for Health, are all acknowledged by CDA Consult for their efforts.

Others are Dr. Pavani Ram, Chief, Child Health and Immunisation Division, United States Agency for International Development (USAID); Dr. Kathleen Schmeler, Professor of Gynaecologic Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre; Associate Vice President of Global Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Network; and Hannah Johnson, Program Manager, Global Policy, George W. Bush Institute.

He also mentioned Sung, Jacques & Siegel, Rebecca & Laversanne, Mathieu & Soerjomataram, Isabelle & Jemal, Ahmedin & Bray, and Freddie for their laborious efforts. (2021). 2020 Global Cancer Statistics: According to the GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries, 341,843 women are expected to have died from cervical cancer in 2020.