News

Battor CCPTC organises cervical precancer screening in North Tongu District

The Cervical Cancer Prevention and Training Centre (CCPTC) in Catholic Hospital, Battor, working with the North Tongu District Health Directorate has started an organised (not opportunistic) cervical precancer and breast cancer screening in two towns (Fodzoku and Torgorme) in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region of Ghana.

HPV DNA testing and Visual Inspection with Acetic acid (VIA) will be done for each woman for cervical precancer screening as well as clinical breast examination,the Head of the CCPTC, Dr Kofi Effah, said in a statement copied the Ghanaian Times.

With about 300 health workers (CCPTC alumni) trained across Ghana, the CCPTC believes Ghana is ready for organised cervical and breast cancer screening programmes. Interested communities and individuals that would like to sponsor screening of women in their communities are welcome.

Unlike opportunistic screening, this model involves compiling community registers and calling every eligible women in the register for screening. Community volunteers in the two towns worked with the North Tongu District Health Directorate to come up with the community registers of women 25 years old and above.

In July, 3 midwives and a Community Health Nurse from the two towns were trained in Module 1 of the CCPTC’s cervical (and breast cancer prevention programme) and were equipped to lead execution of the project in the communities.

This new model of organised community-based screening being championed by the CCPTC involves discussions with the opinion leaders in the communities to make the communities own it and plan sustainability, involvement of the District Health Directorate, creation of community registers – ‘census’ of all women who are 25 years and above in the communities.

Trained health workers in the communities would conduct the screening where the communities have no trained health workers, and arrangements will be made for trained health workers to go to the communities to screen the women.

All eligible women in the communities are being invited for screening and women with precancerous lesions of the cervix may be treated onsite, or referred to the nearest institution where treatment can be given, and women with breast lumps/abnormalities will be referred to the nearest facility for follow up/treatment.

The strength of this model lies in community involvement and ownership of the programme. At Fodzoku, The North Tongu District Public Health Nurse, Mr Elagbe Goka, gave the first batch of items

By Times Reporter

Show More
Back to top button