Combating Cervical Cancer in Kenya
Where
Kenya
Why
Prevent cervical cancer and improve diagnosis and treatment.
Funded by
Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation
When
2017–2020
What
Some 10.3 million Kenyan women aged 15 and over are at risk for cervical cancer, with annual incidence projected to rise 75 per cent by 2025. Adolescent girls and young women with HIV infection are especially vulnerable, as cervical cancer progresses more rapidly in the presence of a weakened immune system. The prevalence of HIV infection, falling in most age cohorts, is actually rising in this group, creating an impending public health emergency.
For this project, CMMB has focused on:
- Training community health volunteers to integrate messages about the importance of vaccinating girls aged 10 to 14 against HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer.
- Screening for cervical cancer.
- Screening women aged 30 and up for cervical cancer to enable early detection. In Kitui South Sub-County, CMMB has trained health professionals to perform cancer screening using the low-cost visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) method and curative cryotherapy.
- Integrating the same messaging into health education and awareness campaigns in 34 health facilities and 80 schools to strengthen the referral process and ensure access to cancer care for the county’s poor and vulnerable women.
Impact Stories