As 2014 ended, Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon, a public-private partnership dedicated to fighting breast and cervical cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa, screened its 100,000th woman for cervical cancer. The organization, which recently expanded into Ethiopia and Namibia, conducted the screenings in Zambia, Tanzania, and Botswana.
Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon has focused on screening for a number of reasons. First, screening lets women know whether they have cervical cancer, which has become responsible for more and more deaths as childbirth becomes less dangerous. On top of that, screenings provide a chance for health care workers to offer education about the benefits of vaccination against human papillomavirus, which causes almost every case of cervical cancer. The education means more young girls can be vaccinated, drastically reducing their chances of getting cervical cancer later in life. Finally, screening programs provide additional benefits to the nations in which they are implemented. They strengthen medical systems by training doctors, nurses, and midwives and support economic growth by keeping women, who have a huge impact on African economies, healthier.
Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon has focused on screening for a number of reasons. First, screening lets women know whether they have cervical cancer, which has become responsible for more and more deaths as childbirth becomes less dangerous. On top of that, screenings provide a chance for health care workers to offer education about the benefits of vaccination against human papillomavirus, which causes almost every case of cervical cancer. The education means more young girls can be vaccinated, drastically reducing their chances of getting cervical cancer later in life. Finally, screening programs provide additional benefits to the nations in which they are implemented. They strengthen medical systems by training doctors, nurses, and midwives and support economic growth by keeping women, who have a huge impact on African economies, healthier.