Today is the first day of Global Giving's Open Challenge which means today is the first day you can donate to our project! Global Giving is an online fundraising source for nonprofits and we are competing in the Open Challenge to earn the opportunity of having a permanent fundraising page on their site. A permanent page would allow us to fundraise year round for our causes and open up a multitude of resources, including partnering with organizations similar to ours and finding new donors. To earn this position, we must raise at least $5,000 from at least 40 different donors from now through December 31st.
During the Open Challenge we are fundraising to establish a cervical cancer screening and treatment program in Wa, Ghana, located in the Upper West Region. Cervical cancer is the most common cancer and causes more than 2,000 deaths among women in Ghana each year. However, cervical care is not currently offered in the Upper West Region. Instead, women must travel up to 700km to receive treatment. The distance to health centers offering treatment significantly impacts the morbidity and mortality of cervical cancer cases in the Upper West. In 2011, 93% of the women with cervical cancer seen at the Wa Regional Hospital had cases so advanced little could be done to effectively treat them. By incorporating screening for cervical cancer into the health care system and offering accessible treatment, our program will help prevent and catch cervical cancer cases before they become so advanced, improving the health of women in the Upper West Region.
The establishment of the cervical cancer screening and treatment program is critical to the health of women in the Upper West Region. Please consider donating to our cause this Holiday Season and help save women's lives in Ghana. Your support will not only help women in Ghana but enable MedPLUS Connect to grow as an organization and continue working on projects such as this program. Please visit our project page to donate and find out more information: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/cancer-screening-and-treatment-for-women-in-ghana/
Women at a market in the Upper West Region