On Monday 21 June 2021, medical officers, clinical officers, nurses, laboratory technicians, environmental health officers, and health surveillance assistants gathered in Mangochi where they had a review meeting for the PEER cervical cancer research study.
Delegates learned about the latest updates and experiences in other participating health facilities and spotted opportunities for improvement.
The PEER project is a cluster randomized trial conducted in selected health facilities in Lilongwe and Zomba, integrating a human papillomavirus (HPV)-based screening method with voluntary family planning (VFP) services.
Addressing the participants Dr. Thokozani Liwewe from the Lilongwe District Health Office said the essence of the gathering was to appreciate the work done under the PEER cervical cancer study, emphasizing that cervical cancer was one of the most common among women in Malawi.
“It is encouraging to note that when some facilities are doing well it also encourages others to do well,” she said.
Zomba District Nursing officer Joseph Zulu said it was it was very encouraging to note that in the course of project implementation there were a lot of successes registered.
“This shows that we were parts and parcel of this and have been participating actively in the implementation. Let’s us sustain the momentum. It should not end. We should continue the fight so that many women should access the services,” he said.
He congratulated all the health facilities that had done well in the project and received certificates of recognition. He said the fight against cervical cancer requires team action and not individual approach.
“Women would want to live free of the cervical cancer and this is largely dependent on us. Let us have, the interest, the team spirit. Partners will always want to come to support us if we ourselves start.”
Principal Investigator for the PEER cervical cancer research study Dr. Lameck Chinula lauded the milestone the project was already achieving.
He said cervical cancer is the number one killer among all cancers in Malawi; 2800 women die annually due to this cancer in Malawi but it was preventable if detected and treated early.
“It’s disheartening how women die; others left alone. The amount of pain women suffer is great. We don’t want more women to be experiencing the same,” he said.
The main agenda of the meeting included sharing of experiences from some health facilities implementing the PEER project in Zomba and Lilongwe, updates on CECAP register’s documentation, review of data, discussions, questions and answers, case studies and presentation of certificates of excellence.
Bwaila Hospital, Chileka Health Centre, Namasalima Health Centre, Ngwelero Health Centre, Nkhoma Mission Hospital and Zomba Central Hospital received certificates of recognition for being outstanding in cervical cancer Screening and preventive therapy. An individual Patrick Chigumula was also recognized for being outstanding in cervical cancer screening and preventive therapy in the community as part of the PEER Project.