Roche today signed an MoU to join forces with Kilele Health Association’s – a non-profit organization – amongst other private sector companies on a campaign to drive awareness and advocacy on Cervical Cancer prevention. The campaign seeks to support government efforts towards their 90-70-90 cancer elimination goals by reaching 4 million women and girls by 2027 in Kenya. Cervical Cancer is the second most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths among Kenyan women yet it is easily preventable
“ GLOBOCAN Report 2020 indicates that 15 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each day in Kenya; and 9 women die daily. These are women at their prime, active contributors to the economy, a glue to households, businesses and communities. It is our duty to save their lives and working with private sector companies like Roche and other private sector orgnastions can help us drive significant change”,
says Benda Kithaka, Executive Director, Kilele Health Association.
The collaboration will encompass awareness campaigns to enable women and girls to
make informed decisions about their cervical health, policy engagement to drive
sustainable funding for HPV screening and vaccination, community outreach,
vaccination and screening activations across the country.
“Access to screening and reliable HPV testing is critical to ending cervical cancer, nowoman should have to die of a disease that is preventable. We are pleased to work with the Kelele Health Association to drive access and advocacy where it is needed the most”,
Ida Mbuthia, Healthcare Access Lead, Roche Diagnostics.
Addressing inequities in access to national HPV vaccination, screening and testing;
driving collective concentrated efforts and sustainable private-public partnerships that
are people centric provide a step closer to a cervical cancer free generation.
References:
https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/populations/404-kenya-fact-sheets.pdf
About Roche
Founded in 1896 in Basel, Switzerland, as one of the first industrial manufacturers of
branded medicines, Roche has grown into the world’s largest biotechnology company
and the global leader in in-vitro diagnostics. The company pursues scientific excellence to discover and develop medicines and diagnostics for improving and saving the lives of people around the world. We are a pioneer in personalised healthcare and want to further transform how healthcare is delivered to have an even greater impact. To provide the best care for each person we partner with many stakeholders and combine our strengths in Diagnostics and Pharma with data insights from the clinical practice.
In recognising our endeavour to pursue a long-term perspective in all we do, Roche has been named one of the most sustainable companies in the pharmaceuticals industry by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the fifteenth consecutive year. This distinction also reflects our efforts to improve access to healthcare together with local partners in every country we work.
Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.
For more information, please visit www.roche.com
All trademarks used or mentioned in this release are protected by law.
About Kilele Health Associations:
KILELE Health Association is non-profit organization, registered in Kenya under the
Societies Act. We are members of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) in Geneva, Switzerland; Kenyan Network of Cancer Organisations, NCD Alliance Kenya.
KILELE Health is the Secretariat for African Cervical Health Alliance (ACHA).
Our Vision is a Kenya where people living with chronic health conditions and their
caregivers have equal opportunities for the advancement of a life of purpose. We are
working with Survivors and Caregivers to change mindsets, inspire hope, and engage
communities for cancer prevention.
