Breast cancer fight project rolls out in 3 regions

A three-year comprehensive project meant to help improve early detection, timely diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in the country has been launched.

The BEAT Breast Cancer Project is expected to be rolled out in the Greater Accra, Ashanti and Northern regions, covering 240 health facilities.

It is an initiative of Jhpiego Ghana with funding from the Pfizer Foundation and support from the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service.

The project followed a successful pilot phase in the Bekwai Municipality in the Ashanti Region, which ran from June 2022 to July 2024 and included screenings for both breast and cervical cancer.

The pilot provided free clinical breast examinations to 4,997 women and ensured diagnosis and referrals for efficient management.

Health burden

Speaking at the launch of the project in Accra, the Country Director of Jhpiego, Dr Pearl Nanka-Bruce stated that breast cancer remained a serious health burden in Ghana, with over 5,000 women diagnosed in 2022 alone.

Participants displaying images of breast cancer survivors at the ‘Beat Breast Cancer’ initiative

With 47 per cent of them losing their lives, she said the high death rate was due to late diagnosis and limited access to treatment, a gap the project hopes to close.

She explained that the project aimed to make screening more accessible for women not to travel long distances to major hospitals such as the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital before getting checked.

“The three-year project will focus on Greater Accra, Ashanti and the Northern regions to raise awareness, integrate clinical breast examinations into primary healthcare, improve access to diagnostics and strengthen treatment systems,” she said.

Death prevention

The country director stated that the goal was to ensure that breast cancer was detected and treated early to prevent unnecessary deaths in the country.

“It would help reduce the long wait time for diagnosis, currently, it can take a woman up to one year to be diagnosed, but the goal is to shorten this period to two months.

“After diagnosis, the next challenge is accessing treatment. Most treatment options are available only in major teaching hospitals, making it difficult for many patients to continue care due to high costs,” she added.

Quality diagnosis

The Chief Director of the Ministry of Health (MoH), Alhaji Hafiz Adam, who represented the sector minister, underlined the need for access to quality diagnosis and treatment, stronger policies and improved capacity for healthcare providers and community leaders.

He said Ghanaians should take deliberate steps to improve education, prevention, ensure early detection and access to treatment for breast cancer.

He said breast cancer was not just an individual or institutional fight but a battle for everyone in the country.

Full support

The Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Prof. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, pledged the full institutional support for the rolling of the project.

He said plans were underway to instruct all GHS facilities and regional directors to observe World Breast Cancer Day and tasked the Health Promotion Division to work with Jhpiego and the media to intensify public awareness.