By Ewoenam Kpodo, GNA
Aflao (V/R), March 16, GNA – A project to eliminate cervical cancer through screening for early detection and treatment, has been launched at Aflao in Ketu South Municipality of the Volta Region.
It is dubbed: “Adopting and Piloting a Cervical Cancer Surveillance Programme in Ketu South Municipality, Ghana”
The year-long project is being implemented by the Municipal Health Directorate in collaboration with the Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (GFELTP), a competency-based Programme at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Speaking at the launch and training of health staff, Dr Grace Adjoa Ocansey, a Clinical Epidemiologist and Principal Investigator for the project, said it aimed to pilot and screen for the cancer causing Human Papilomavirus (HPV) for early detection and treatment.
It would also help inform a national approach at eliminating the disease.
“The overall goal of this project is to pilot a cervical screening programme in Ketu South Municipality to early detect, respond and appropriately manage cervical pre-cancerous and cancerous cases to improve their prognosis and survival.”
“It is also to provide evidence to support the call for the establishment of an effective national population-based cervical screening and surveillance programme in Ghana.”
Dr Ocansey said the project, which began in the municipality mid January and would last till December 2024, would help determine the prevalence of cervical precancer and cancer lesions and the proportion of those positive cases linked to care (for free during the project duration).
Lots of stakeholder engagements and awareness raising on the disease had gone on with the training of two health workers each from some 33 public and private health facilities within Ketu South on cervical screening methods, she said.
Dr Ocansey expressed the belief that with the provision of starter-packs under the project, cervical screening units would be set up in the facilities.
Mrs Diana Sena Awutey Hinidza, a Certified Cervical Cancer Screener, who demonstrated a cervical screening method to the trainees, in a solidarity message on behalf of ambassadors of International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS) – Ghana Chapter, expressed gratitude to the stakeholders for the efforts to eliminate cervical cancer and HPV-related conditions.
“Unfortunately, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) as a system has not yet had a roadmap on the data collection tools and reporting format at the grassroot for screening, vaccination and treatment,” she said.
“The data we have currently on the statistics on the various types of cancers caused by HPV are all from elsewhere and not a data owned by the GHS.”
She urged women to avail themselves for screening for early detection and treatment saying, “management becomes more difficult and cure may not be possible when women are diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer”, stressing that “no woman should get to that stage.”
Prof Ernest Kenu, Director, GFELTP and Mentor for the project, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, tasked the media to propagate the message on the disease persistently.
It is ranked as the second most diagnosed cancer and second leading cause of deaths among Ghanaian women, he said.
“The media has a role to play to educate women on cervical cancer to save lives. Ignorance of it is causing lots of havoc. Help keep them (women) alive.”
GNA
MA/ABD