By Eliza Squibb | Executive Director
This International Women’s Day, GAIA officially launched the latest phase of our program to fight cervical cancer in West Africa with the GAVI Alliance’s program for HPV vaccination in Mali. Cervical cancer, caused by the vaccine-preventable human papillomavirus (HPV), kills 300,000 women globally each year. Mali, a West African country, has one of the highest rates of cervical cancer in the region.
The current campaign, titled “Our Daughters, Ourselves”, focuses on prevention methods across generations. Healthcare personnel at 6 clinics have received training, and free screening and HPV vaccination will be available throughout the yearlong campaign. During the first month of the campaign (Feb 2018) more than 1,600 women were screened and 200 girls vaccinated. In just 2 months, GAIA’s program will surpass screening records from 2015, demonstrating the value of community outreach for prevention!
GAIA has developed an innovative method for community education for disease prevention called the “story-telling cloth”. Based on West African-style “wax print” patterns, GAIA’s fabric design incorporates local textile traditions and explores new avenues for health communication. In Mali, where only 22% of women are literate, GAIA’s experience shows that visual education using the story-telling cloth is an effective tool used by women, for women, to raise awareness and share health information.
The new story-telling cloth pattern features geometric flowering patterns based on mathematical multiples of 6 and 12 petals. Both numbers serve as medical appointment reminders built into the pattern: girls need the 2nd dose of the vaccine 6 months after the first, and women need a follow-up screening 12 months after a normal screen.
GAIA’s community clinic partners for the campaign include Catholic and Muslim health centers, and local religious leaders have joined outreach efforts in an interfaith initiative to promote cancer prevention and women’s health.
Join us in fighting cervical cancer in West Africa! Your support will provide stipends to the dedicated team of health personnel who are providing free screenings and vaccination to the community.
By Eliza Squibb | Executive Director
By Eliza Squibb | Executive Director
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