| The Ministry of Health is gearing to visit 50,000 women in their homes, before the end of October, to teach them the importance of breast self examination in the fight against breast cancer.The venture, according to Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy, comes as part of the health sector’s “50-by-nine initiative” (50/9), which is an intervention proposed to prevent and control the disease that affects mostly the female gender.He said that the ministry’s goal is that every woman, as a teenager, learn how to do breast self examination.The programme, the minister said, will continue even after reaching its target,Ander Herrera Manchester United Jersey, so that by the year 2012, the ministry would have established a programme whereby at least one woman in every home in Guyana knows how to do the examination with ease.“The whole idea is for women to pass the knowledge on, so that every mother will be able to teach her daughter how to do breast self examination,” the minister asserted.The programme, according to the minister, was initiated last October, and several persons are expected to complete training in this regard this month, after which the programme will be officially launched.According to the minister, “We are trying to make people aware of this venture, so that they begin within their homes to expect that volunteers from the ministry will be coming to their homes for this purpose. We can’t go and take off people’s clothes in the public,Ashley Young Jersey, so some amount of privacy is required within their homes.We will also be able to talk with them and teach them how the examination is done.”And persons will not be able to volunteer in the programme,Jordan Hamilton Jersey, unless they are trained and certified and are equipped with identification cards to guard against impersonation situations.Minister Ramsammy said that a curriculum was developed by experienced Gynaecologists who have been training health workers and volunteers in all 10 administrative regions. Having been trained, the minister said,Kevin De Bruyne Jersey, a selected team will be dispatched into the various administrative regions to teach the target amount of women to do breast self examination.“There are over 200,000 households in Guyana, so this effort would have taken us to a quarter of the households in the country in the year,” the minister pointed out.By April, the trainers who would have been certified will be dispatched to train more persons in their regions. The actual home visits will, however, commence in May, and it is expected that by July the minimum target of 50,000 will be met.“That is a very ambitious goal, but we have some very determined women leading this venture,” the minister asserted.In the months of August and September,Claudio Suarez Mexico Jersey, he noted,David Luiz Jersey, a “mopping up exercise” will be done if any additional numbers are required to make up the target.The first report on the accomplishment of the 50/9 initiative will be prepared after the achievement is met, and will be unveiled during the observance of Breast Cancer Month in October. |
