Jamaica is the first member state in Caricom to benefit from three special microscopes (colposcopes) donated by the Government of Spain to boost capacity to detect early signs of cervical cancer.
According to the Caricom Secretariat this is part of the community’s continuing battle against lifestyle-related diseases.
The special microscopes used to detect signs of cervical cancer will also be presented to the eight member states which were represented at the training in Jamaica: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Dominica, Belize, Haiti, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis.
Jamaica received its colposcopes last Friday at the closing ceremony of a five-day training of regional gynaecologists and obstetricians in colposcopy.
According to the press release, the training was organised by the Caricom Secretariat in collaboration with the University of the West Indies. It represents the first phase of a four-phase project which is fully supported by the Government of Spain, as part of the Caricom/Spain Cooperation Project on the Support for the Prevention and Control of Cervical Cancer in the Caricom Region.
Meanwhile, Marta Mendez Diaz, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Spain, Jamaica, in presenting the colposcopes noted that the region’s sustainability was hinged on its health as was underscored in the Caricom Nassau Declaration: ‘The Health of the Region is the Wealth of the Region’.
Noting that the region had one of the highest rates of cervical cancer in the world, she reiterated her government’s commitment to supporting the fight against cervical cancer and expressed hope that the gynaecologists and obstetricians who were trained would relay the knowledge and skills they had acquired to others and would use those skills in helping to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer in their country.
UWI Professor Horace Fletcher, Course Facilitator, who accepted the colposcopes on behalf of Jamaica, explained their functions.
He said they would be used to examine the cervix and the tissues of the vagina and vulva thoroughly to be able to detect premalignant lesions and malignant lesions in those areas.
He told participants at the closing ceremony that the colposcopes would be allocated in areas of critical need and he was optimistic that there would be a reduction in the high incidence of cervical cancer in Jamaica in the ensuing years.
More than ten gynaecologists and obstetricians – the majority of whom were females – received certificates as certified trainers in colposcopy, the release stated.
They will be required to facilitate training of health personnel in the appropriate procedures, within their countries, during implementation of the second phase of the project, which will focus on in-country training interventions.
Phases three and four of the project will see the documentation and dissemination of the recommended protocols for the early detection and treatment of cervical cancer, including colposcopy as well as the sourcing and acquisition of the required equipment for designated medical institutions.
The second leg of the Training-of-Trainers intervention starts tomorrow in Trinidad and Tobago and ends on Friday.
