Mujeres Adelante

In Ecuador, cervical cancer needlessly kills thousands of women each year. Ecuador’s cervical cancer burden is reflective of that of Latin America, with a four times higher rate of morbidity and five times higher rate of mortality compared to the United States. Currently, 36% of all women in Ecuador have never been screened for cervical cancer, the majority of whom are indigenous and have little to no access to such services.

Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) is an alternative screening method to cervical cytology that is recommended in low-resource settings. VIA is a naked eye visual inspection of the cervix uteri after application of diluted acetic acid (VIA), where the cervix is temporarily stained white to allow precancerous lesions to be detected and treated. Upon identification of an abnormality, safe and proven treatment of abnormal lesions using ablative methods including cryotherapy is the most common treatment approach.PACH provided training to FISBUAPAM on how to implement the VIA method in a low-resource setting. After the VIA training, FIBUSPAM practitioners incorporated VIA screening into their mobile medical clinics, thus taking cervical cancer screening to some of the most remote communities in Ecuador.  FIBUSPAM has now screened over 1,000 previously unscreened women, finding a higherthan-expected rate of VIA-positive women, with 130 women, or 13% of all cases, testing positive for cervical cancer or pre-cancerous lesions. The majority of VIA-positive women were successfully treated using cryo-therapy. 

Cervical Cancer prevention and treatment through the VIA method saves women’s lives in Ecuador and improves the lives of Ecuadorian children in need. Studies show that when mothers are healthy, children and families are healthier overall as well. Children who are raised by healthy and supportive mothers achieve a higher level of education and are more likely to become economically successful. Often, women who have received cervical cancer treatment through FIBUSPAM will then return with other women in their communities, their children, and their spouses to receive medical care and treatments as needed. As such, cervical cancer screening serves as an additional entry point to treat thousands of families in need.