In rural Bangladesh there are no cervical cancer screening programs despite the fact that over 50 million women are at risk and 17,686 cases are diagnosed and 10,362 deaths occur per year. This number will increase to over 31,000 new cases and 18,000 deaths per year by 2025. Help HOPE provide cervical cancer screening to rural communities in southeast Bangladesh.
Annually over 50 million women in Bangladesh are at risk for cervical cancer. Each year there are 17,686 diagnosed cases and 10,362 deaths per year. For rural women living in Cox's Bazar, not only is there no cervical cancer screening service, but even if there was, they would not be able to afford the cost. Cervical cancer is one of the cheapest and most effective cancers to treat when detected early; if not, the chance of survival is among the slimmest of all cancers.
The project is comprehensive and sustainable. HOPE will partner with Prevention International who will train our local staff on how to screen using the VIA method as appropriate for resource-poor settings and treat patients when necessary, either by cryotherapy or LEEP procedure. A massive awareness campaign will be implemented to educate the community women, and an ongoing cervical cancer program will run at HOPE Hospital indefinitely.
The long-term impact is incredible. HOPE will save the lives of thousands of women in the southeast region of Bangladesh and furthermore establish itself as the only provider in the area for cervical cancer. HOPE will reach a minimum of 20,000 women over a 5-year period through education or direct care, train 20 of our staff members and set the standard for providing poor rural women with access to cervical cancer care.
