Susan M. Johnson: Answering the call to save women’s lives in Africa

Susan M. Johnson , Director of Development and Communications at Friends of Africa, shared on LinkedIn:

“August 22nd marked National Surgical Oncologists Day, a time to celebrate and honor the doctors who dedicate their careers to extending the lives of cancer patients including removing cancerous growths and monitoring patient care before and after surgery to ensure the best possible outcomes for their patients.

In recognition of National Surgical Oncologists Day, I would be remiss if I did not write about the remarkable work of Professor Groesbeck P. Parham, M.D. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. Parham is a board-certified gynecologic/oncologist and a recently retired Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Division of Global Women’s Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He is the Chief Operating Officer for the University of Cincinnati Research and Training Alliance (UC-ART Zambia); CEO, of Friends of Africa; WHO’s Senior Clinical Expert for the Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative in the Director General’s Office and the Founding Co-Director of the Cervical Cancer Prevention Program at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Lusaka, Zambia where he has been living and working for close to 20 years.

Dr. Parham formerly served as the Zambian Co-Chair of HPTN 035, an international clinical trial designed to determine the efficacy and safety of two topical microbicides to prevent HIV infection in women. He is an Honorary Professor at the University Teaching Hospital of Zambia and led the development and roll-out of that country’s first national comprehensive cervical cancer control program. The screening component of the program targets HIV-infected women due to their extremely high rates of cervical cancer. To date, Zambia has screened over 1 million women for cervical cancer.

As the Founder of Friends of Africa, Inc. (FOA), (a U.S.-based nonprofit organization), Dr. Parham, along with his esteemed colleagues Dr. Michael L. Hicks (gynecologic/oncologist) and Dr. Ronda Henry-Tillman (breast surgical oncologist), formed a dynamic surgical oncology team known as the Women’s Oncology Collective for Africa (WOCA). FOA is dedicated to improving women’s health in Africa through comprehensive cancer care and education.

FOA supports four cervical cancer screening camps and four breast cancer early detection sites outside Kigali, Rwanda. These initiatives have significantly increased early detection rates and provided critical care to thousands of women. The programs are designed to be sustainable, with ongoing training for local healthcare providers and continuous community engagement.

The impact of these programs is profound, with numerous success stories of early detection and successful treatment. FOA and WOCA actively engage with local communities through educational workshops, partnerships with local organizations, and community outreach efforts. These collaborations ensure that the programs are culturally sensitive and effectively address the needs of the communities they serve.

FOA’s work is conducted in several of the most challenging regions in Africa (DR Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda) to bring critical cancer care to the continent’s most vulnerable women. Looking ahead, FOA aims to expand its programs to reach more underserved areas and continue to build capacity within local healthcare systems. FOA is committed to creating a lasting impact on women’s health in Africa.

I first met Dr. Parham in 2015 when he visited the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in Atlanta to present on cervical cancer in the Congo. The statistics about cervical cancer there were alarming.

In 2016, the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation along with the Friends of Africa and the United Nations Population Fund co-sponsored a cervical cancer awareness campaign in Kinshasa, the capital city.

Dr. Parham and his Zambian medical team had successfully trained the medical staff at the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, both in the DR Congo and Zambia. After receiving their certificates, they were equipped to conduct cancer screenings at the hospital and throughout the country.

The following year for the inaugural campaign, we only expected a few hundred women to show up, however close to one thousand women showed up at the hospital for the screenings.

For the first time in the Democratic Republic of Congo, comprehensive women’s cancer services were offered at a single healthcare facility. From July 2016 to August 2024, the staff at Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital (BMMH) in Kinshasa screened 24,290 patients for cervical cancer.

Since 2017, 10,666 women have been screened for breast cancer. The well-trained medical team has performed hundreds of diagnostic and surgical procedures. All clinical services are organized under the Women’s Oncology Institute, DRC.

The Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital (BMMH) recently marked its 17th anniversary, treating over one million patients since it opened in July 2007. Named in honor of Dikembe Mutombo’s mother, it was the first hospital established in the DR Congo in 45 years.”

Source: Susan M. Johnson/LinkedIn