Center for Women and Girls Empowerment (CEWOGE) embarks on Cervical Cancer Awareness Campaign

Malawi: The Center for Women and Girls Empowerment (CEWOGE), a Malawian NGO, has launched a cervical cancer awareness campaign, with the goal of educating girls and young women in Malawi about cervical cancer issues.

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, and Malawi has the highest rate of cervical cancer-related mortality in the world.

A BMC Public Health publication indicates that over 2,300 women develop cervical cancer and over 1,600 die from the disease.

According to a 2017 research project conducted by the Malawi Medical Journal in collaboration with Kamuzu Health Sciences and the Medical Association of Malawi, the number of women affected by Cervical Cancer, which accounts for more than 40% of female cancers, is further complicated by the fact that many cancers may go unrecorded and lack of a national system of death certification.

The Malawi Medical Journal shows that cervical cancer is an AIDS-defining condition, and Malawi has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world, with 10.6 per cent of the adult population (15-64 years) having HIV (12.8 per cent of women vs 8.2 per cent men).

HIV prevalence, insufficient screening, late diagnosis, and limited access to timely, standard cancer treatment and palliative care are all major risk factors for high cervical cancer incidence and mortality.

All of these statistics and research findings demonstrate how important the CEWOGE initiative is for Malawi as a whole.

The organization, which focuses on empowering women and girls in education, health, leadership, and the environment, expressed concern about Malawi's alarmingly high incidence and mortality rate from cervical cancer.

"Malawi has the highest cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates in the world, with ASRs of 75.9 and 49.8 per 100,000 people, respectively. You can see how bad this is. Another important factor to consider is that this disease has no symptoms in its early stages, so most women are unconcerned, hence the need to raise more awareness for early detection "Carol Chidothe, Executive Director of the Center for Women and Girls Empowerment, said.

Chidothe, while applauding the efforts of the government and other non-governmental organizations working tirelessly to treat and prevent cervical cancer, says Malawi as a country still has a long way to go.

"We still have a long way to go in Malawi. We appreciate the organizations promoting cervical cancer awareness and screenings, but I believe there is still a significant gap. I believe that by doing our part as CEWOGE, lives will be saved. We may be limited in resources, but we are working hard to mobilize them because we do not only want to run campaigns in urban areas but also in rural areas where women are illiterate "Chidothe added.

Since their campaign was only recently launched, CEWOGE says they will continue with more awareness campaigns in the Southern Region. They will also engage college and university students from MUBAS, Catholic University, and Chancellor College, among others.

In order to improve the conversation about Cervical Cancer in Malawi, the campaign will also include monthly Cancer Talks that will be streamed through social media platforms.

Chidothe goes on to say that their organization has implemented a few strategies in order to reach a larger audience.

Chidothe revealed the company's strategy, saying: "We will soon reveal a female music artist who will be championing the project so that we can spread the word about cervical cancer through her social media channels. We hope to see more women receive early diagnosis so they can be treated as soon as possible."

The cervical cancer screening program in Malawi began in 2004 as a pilot project in Mulanje district, and by 2011, it had been scaled up. Later, the program was expanded and implemented in central and district hospitals, mission hospitals, health centres, and private hospitals.

On July 30th of this year, the Center for Women and Girls Empowerment held its first workshop on Cervical Cancer Screening and Awareness Campaign in Blantyre as part of its ongoing project.

Female students from MUBAS, Exploits and Catholic University participated in the workshop. CEWOGE Volunteers, Health Personnel, and other Blantyre-based organizations were among those in attendance.

Images courtesy of CEWOGE