WOMEN in one of the world’s poorest countries are to be screened and offered same-day treatment for cancer by a charity based at the University of Salford.

Knowledge for Change (K4C) are to screen more than 1,000 women for cervical cancer, treat 100 women for pre-cancerous lesions, and train 70 local health workers in screening, diagnosis, treatment and counselling for cervical cancer patients in Uganda. This will be delivered through UN Sustainable Development goals, which focus on health, wellbeing and gender equality.

Cervical cancer is the biggest killer of women in Uganda where provision and uptake of screening services remains desperately low.

Five NHS staff, from medical, nursing, midwifery and pharmacy backgrounds, will travel out to Africa as professional volunteers during the project, along with several health students and staff from the University of Salford.

Head of the charity and Chair in Global Social Justice at the University of Salford, Professor Louise Ackers, said: “The plan is to attract hard-to-reach women and achieve a high rate of successful follow-ups. In doing so, we hope to reduce delays and congestion in public hospitals as well as reducing mortality caused by cervical cancer.”

The charity trustees include a number of academics within the School of Health and Society, including Professor Anya Ahmed, Dr Chris Coey, Dr John Chatwin, Eileen Cunningham, James Ackers-Johnson, Natalie Tate (PhD Student) and some associate members of staff based in Uganda.

The charity’s mission is to build capacity for healthcare in Uganda and exchange knowledge and skills between British and Ugandan healthcare professionals and students.

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