Zambia hailed for fighting cervical cancer

First lady Esther Lungu has said the fight against cancer related diseases needs concerted efforts from all stakeholders

And Zambia has been recognised by the Pink Ribbon, Red Ribbon campaign as one of the first countries that is making strides in fighting cancer related diseases.

Pink Ribbon, Red Ribbon campaign Chief Executive Officer Celina Schocken said this during a bilateral meeting with First Lady Esther Lungu and the George W. Bush Institute Deputy Director for women’s initiatives Natalie Platts in New York yesterday.

ZANIS reports that the meeting was aimed at discussing further partnerships in the fight against cancer.

Mrs Lungu said people in rural areas in Zambia are more susceptible to the disease because they shun getting help from health institutions due to ignorance.

She said her passion was to see that women and girls lead decent lives especially those in rural areas.

Mrs Lungu has since appealed to stakeholders to champion cancer control and prevention.

She said she is willing to follow the footsteps of former first lady Christine Kaseba in her efforts of fighting cancer in women.

Meanwhile, Ms Schocken said Zambia is a shining example and has become the first African country to record progress in the fight against cancer

Approximately 86 percent of all cervical cancer cases occur in developing countries and about 50, 000 women in Zambia are screened each year for cancer.

Ms Schocken said the fight against cancer in Zambia is an example of the good leadership the country has.

She has since commended government for the good work it was doing to reduce cases of cancer.

Ms Schocken however challenged stakeholders to work at increasing the number of women being screened from 50,000 to 180, 000 annually.

She said there was also need to create awareness to fight stigma and myths as people have misconceptions about cancer diseases

And Senior Private Secretary in the first Lady’s office Florence Chawelwa said Zambia was proud with the continuity that has existed with present and past first ladies in championing national programmes.

She said the office of the first lady will be used as a platform in championing the control and prevention of cancer especially among women and girls in rural areas.

The Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon campaign was launched in Zambia in September 2011 by the George W. Bush institute and the United states government under the U.S President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS relief (PEPFAR), Susan Komen and the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)