"Enjoying life, saving women from cervical cancer" is a pilot project launched in 2017 that uses the "Tell, See and Treat" method to prevent cervical cancer in Uganda. In fact, cervical cancer is the number one cause of death among women with cancer in Uganda.
Together with the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) and our local partner Uganda Rural Development and Training Programme (URDT) working in the pilot district of Kagadi, FCF is joining forces to successfully introduce the See & Treat method.
Screening and training
URDT works with the local government hospital Kagadi to conduct screening there and to go out with the mobile clinic to more remote areas to screen women. Our supervising physician Marlieke de Fouw visited to assess the quality of the screening and provide feedback. The final phase of the project focuses on training even more nurses at Kagadi Hospital by UCI in Kampala.
Midwives can screen vulnerable women in high-risk areas for cervical cancer such as rural areas. They screen women for pre-stages of cervical cancer with a vinegar solution and, if necessary, treat them directly with cryotherapy (freezing). The method is cost-effective and relatively easy to transfer. Midwives, who have often already established a relationship of trust with women in a community, can use the See & Treat method independently after a short training course.
Sustainable
In addition, equipment has been made available to the hospital, flyers have been designed and hung up and there is frequent consultation between URDT and the Kagadi hospital on how they can take over matters even more so that they can continue screening more independently. Like further optimisation of the information supply for women and contact with the district. The involvement of the district is crucial for the results and the lessons learned, so they can help continue the screening after the project is phased out.
An important pillar remains the awareness campaign for men and women, the attention for the subject is huge
. The wide reach and popularity of URDT's radio station helps tremendously here, as do the sessions held for groups of women.