The Approach of Faith-Based Organizations for Awareness

Background and context: Breast and cervical cancers are the most deadly cancers in Côte d´Ivoire. According to the Abidjan cancer registry, breast and cervical cancers account for 32.6% of cancers diagnosed in Côte d´Ivoire. To curb the spread of this disease, a real policy of awareness and early detection of cases must be implemented. This policy will have to involve all layers of society. The NGO Hope Life for this, initiated an action with the Shunamite Women´s Apostolate of the Catholic Church in 2017, this action led to a campaign against breast and cervical cancer on Saturday October 14, 2017 at the Abidjan Classic High School. Aim: The objective is to demonstrate how religious leaders can contribute to the popularization of information on cervical and breast cancer in Côte d´Ivoire. Program/Policy process:The methodology for the realization of the project to consist of: •Meeting the leaders of the Shunamite Women´s Apostolate, •Train leaders on how to prevent breast and cervical cancer, •To raise awareness during the moments of encounter of the apostolate. Through projections of cancer images, video on self-examination and distribution of flyers, we sensitized women on the risk factors, the warning signs and the modes of prevention of these cancers. Outcomes: The Shunamite women of the Catholic Service of Evangelization have joined the project. They participated in awareness-raising activities. They also initiated a campaign against breast and cervical cancer on October 14, 2017 at the Lycée Classique in Abidjan. This activity saw the participation of more than 500 women who were sensitized on breast and cervical cancers. These women practiced sports and 300 of them were screened for free breast and cervical cancer. There were no positive cases in the cervix but there were eight (8) cases of breast abnormalities. On Saturday, October 21, 2017, she organized a Gala Dinner during which she collected more than ten million francs (10, F) CFA. This allowed to take care of eight (8) women who had anomalies at the level of the breasts. What was learned: At the end of this project, we realized that the religious community has a big role to play in the fight against cancer. Shunamite women have made their fight against breast and cervical cancer their fight and made the commitment to organize every year in October activities for the fight against cancer. These activities will include awareness raising, screening and fundraising for the fight against cancer.