The month of October is declared “Pink Month” and is observed across the world to raise awareness on the deadly breast cancer disease.

As part of its role in empowering and promoting women’s development, ExLA Group is organising a massive sensitisation walk in collaboration with ActionAid Ghana within the Wa Municipality on Saturday 26th October, 2019.

The walk which is dubbed, “Save a Breast, Secure a Nation” will see about 2000 women walk through the principal streets of Wa to sensitise fellow women on the need to take breast care more seriously and draw the attention of Authorities to the horrifying realities of the effect of the menace within the region.

The campaign will be centred around taking steps for early detection and cure of breast cancer among women and the benefits for national development.

To ensure that there are enough stakeholders’ engagements to ensure that the rate at which women die of the disease is reduced to the barest minimum, the walk will be graced with the participation of the Upper West Regional Minister, Members of Parliament for the Wa Central Constituency, Regional Director for the Department of Gender and other Gender Desk Officers of the various MMDAs within the region, the Regional Director for Ghana Health Service, Traditional Authorities among others.

The Capital of the Upper West region, Wa was chosen because currently, there are absolutely no facilities or health centres where women who may be harbouring the breast cancer disease could check-in to know their status and seek early treatment if diagnosed. The available option is to travel southwards to Kumasi or Accra where there are the only two health facilities in Ghana that is the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital which handle breast cancer cases.

Meanwhile, Upper West region is identified as the poorest region in Ghana with the largest number of some of the poorest women in the country who may have serious challenges travelling to the south to seek medical attention even if they get to discover signs and symptoms of the disease.

The breast cancer sensitisation walk is expected to open up opportunities for further engagements within the Upper West Region to secure the lives of the women within the region by getting stakeholders on board to facilitate the provision and access to quality health by women. There will be a massive breast screening exercise after the walk.

This is an ExLA Group Post-YAWC Project that seeks to touch base with the grassroots.