Harold Cottin: What does it take to improve access to breast cancer care in a city like Kumasi in Ghana?

Harold Cottin, Head of Global Public Affairs at City Cancer Challenge, shared on LinkedIn:

“What does it take to improve access to breast cancer care in a city like Kumasi in Ghana? This is the tough question local stakeholders and City Cancer Challenge have tried to answer during these last two days, in the context of our partnership with World Health Organization for the implementation of the Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI) framework.

The GBCI Framework provides guidance for national program managers, policymakers and multisectoral actors to assess, strengthen and scale-up services for:
1/ the early detection
2/ prompt diagnosis
3/ comprehensive management of breast cancer.

GBCI has a clear evidence-based goal to reduce breast cancer mortality by 2.5% per year. The implementation of the GBCI framework is expected to bring a transformative shift in the landscape of breast cancer control. At local level, this Kumasi workshop will help to identify the gaps, set the priorities, and develop a comprehensive Breast Cancer Action Plan for the city, in collaboration with the Ghanaian Ministry of Health.

At global level, this workshop is one piece of a broader strategy to examine the GBCI framework in different contexts, both economically and geographically. Lessons learned will help to identify barriers and facilitators for the implementation of the framework. This implementation test will serve as a model for national level breast care programming in other countries.

The cumulative impact will be a contribution to better overall cancer outcomes, improved quality of life for patients, and reduced mortality rates related to breast cancer.

So, what does it take? Energy, time and dedication. But how rewarding it is! Special thanks to the Ghanaian stakeholders for their warm welcome. Looking forward to the next trip and workshop.”

Source: Harold Cottin/LinkedIn