The Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health has launched a Visual Inspection Acetic Acid (VIA) campaign for the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer that will see the training of both local and regional personnel.
At the launch yesterday, Dr. John Varallo, of the Johns Hopkins University, Maryland who is responsible for training both the local and regional participants in the programme, said he believes that Guyana is “truly a leader” in the area of cervical cancer prevention. In light of the fact that Guyana has one of the highest rates of death by cervical cancer in the world, he commended the country for recognising that the problem exists, and for implementing a solution.
Commenting on the approach, he said “a low tech innovative approach” has been adopted to bring “high quality services” to women. “The beauty of it is that even though it’s low technology, it’s accurate and it links screening with treatment. You get the results in a minute and if the cervix looks nice and healthy then that’s great,
