Coordinated national action needed to address cervical cancer – CDA Consult

Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) has called on the government and other stakeholders to intensify nationwide efforts to combat cervical cancer, particularly in low income communities.

The Executive Director of CDA Consult, Mr. Francis Ameyibor, said Ghana's progress in tackling cervical cancer has been unacceptably slow, stressing the need for a more comprehensive and coordinated national response.

Speaking to journalists in Accra on Wednesday, Mr. Ameyibor said the organisation had intensified its Cervical Cancer Prevention Change Paradigm Advocacy campaign to mobilise stakeholders and raise public awareness on the disease.

CDA Consult is a non governmental organisation that promotes development communication and advocacy.

Mr. Ameyibor explained that the Cervical Cancer Prevention Change Paradigm Advocacy campaign uses responsive communication to drive behavioural change, encourage voluntary HPV vaccination and promote healthy lifestyles.

He said the campaign also seeks to advocate free cervical cancer vaccination while expanding prevention, early detection and treatment services as part of efforts to eliminate the disease in Ghana.

According to him, another key objective of the campaign is to dispel misconceptions surrounding cervical cancer screening, vaccination and treatment in order to increase public acceptance and participation.

He noted that the advocacy initiative places emphasis on primary prevention by targeting individuals before they become at risk while also supporting national efforts in prevention, early detection and treatment.

Mr. Ameyibor said the campaign is also aimed at building momentum for nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programmes, particularly in low and lower middle income communities across Ghana.

He further explained that the initiative advocates policy reforms and strengthened community based interventions, including improved training and support for community health workers and outreach personnel to enable them to deliver integrated healthcare services.

Mr. Ameyibor stressed that adolescents and young people have distinct healthcare, educational, developmental and psychosocial needs, including sexual and reproductive health requirements. He said cervical cancer screening, vaccination and treatment services must therefore be accessible, relevant and responsive to their needs.

“The mortality rate for a woman with cervical cancer is approximately twice that of a woman with breast cancer. Women living with HIV are six times more likely than their HIV negative counterparts to get cervical cancer,” he said.

The CDA Consult Executive Director described the statistics as alarming but emphasised that effective solutions already exist.

“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 could eradicate the worldwide epidemic in a generation, but there aren't enough resources for these essential programs,” he said.

He cited data from the World Health Organization, which show that cervical cancer is the most common cancer affecting women in 36 low and middle-income countries, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

Mr. Ameyibor commended the Eastern Regional Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education for supporting the advocacy campaign and also expressed appreciation to the National Insurance Commission for funding the initiative.