Dr Mary Amoakoh-Coleman (right), President of MWAG, with Nana Dugbakour Dugba II (2nd from right), Paramount Queen Mother of the Ningo Traditional Area, Mr Ebenezer Arthur (left), Director of Finance of Letax Ghana, and other officials launching the campaign in Ningo Prampram. Picture: Gabriel Ahiabor

Medical women launch 2022 cervical cancer campaign

Gabriel Ahiabor Feb - 02 - 2022 , 10:16

The Medical Women Association of Ghana (MWAG) in collaboration with Lexta Ghana and the Ghana Health Service has launched the 2022 cervical cancer awareness campaign.

The campaign was aimed at increasing women understanding of the importance of regular cervical screening and to empower them with health information on how to prevent the disease.

At the launch in Ningo Prampram in the Greater Accra Region, the President of the MWAG, Dr Mary Amoakoh-Coleman, called on women to get themselves screened for the disease for early detection and prevention.

She said cervical cancer was preventable and manageable if detected early through regular screening.

According to her, over 70 per cent of women who were diagnosed in Ghana ended up dying due to the late stage of diagnoses, adding that cervical cancer when found early could be treated.

“Our message this year to a woman is that, early detection saves life. Get screened now so that you can receive care early,” she said.

She said the MWAG had championed prevention through screening services for years and had also engaged in an elaborate campaign to bring awareness and support to women across the country concerning the disease.

Resources

Dr Amoakoh-Coleman appealed to the Ministry of Health to empower its relevant agencies to have adequate resources to make screening services for the disease very accessible and affordable to all women.

The Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Mr Sam George, said many a time, women who went through the menace of cervical cancer always attributed it to witchcraft and died in the process.

He encouraged the women in the Prampram area to go to any health facility near them and to get screened for the disease.

The MP also called for the upgrading of the Prampram Polyclinic to a full hospital and in addition establish a Dangme Regional Hospital for a better health care delivery.

According to him, the population of the area had more than tripled due to the rapid development of the area, adding that a regional hospital, when established, could serve constituencies such as Ningo Prampam, Sege, Shai Osudoku, Kpong kantamanso and Ada, which would eventually ease the pressure on the Tema General Hospital.

The Paramount Queen Mother of the Ningo Traditional area, Nana Dugbakour Dugba II, advised men to be actively involved in the reproductive health and its related issues of their spouses and to encourage them to go out and screen for the cervical cancer disease.