What can be done to help the people of Africa deal with cervical cancer?

Cervical cancer is the leading killer of women outside the child-bearing age bracket in Uganda and the nation has one of the highest cervical cancer death rates in the world, according to All Africa.

A study by the Ugandan health ministry and Path shows that 67 per cent of bed occupancy in the gynaecology ward of Mulago Hospital in Kampala is of cervical cancer cases and 70 per cent of the women who are in this ward die of the disease.

"Over 80 per cent of women with the cancer are diagnosed with the disease in advanced stages that is difficult to treat," said Dr. Emmanuel Mugisha, the country's director of Path - which is a non-profit global health organisation.

These figures are in stark contrast to the numbers recorded in developed countries like the UK, where there is greater awareness of the disease and improved availability of preventive measures such as human papillomavirus vaccines.

The Eve Appeal supports and has funded work by the Institute for Women's Heath to collaborate with counterparts to form the Ugandan Women's Health Initiative (UWHI). So far, the UWHI has initiated ten projects in Kampala and Jinja, which include cervical cancer screening. Some have already been completed, others are fully operational and some are in the development phase. The Institute for Women's Health is always open to forming new links with other countries with a view to collaborating on initiatives that will make a real and sustainable difference to women's health.

Click here for more information on cervical cancer prevention.