Daiichi Sankyo and AMDA-MINDS are working together in Nepal on a Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Camp Project to embed community cancer screening and raise awareness of importance of prevention and early detection
Cancer is a leading death cause in developed countries, but its rate of death has also been increasing in developing nations in recent years. As part of our focus on cancer, which is one of the key issues in expanding global access to healthcare, Daiichi Sankyo is working with AMDA Multisectoral and Integrated Development Services (AMDA-MINDS, Okayama, Japan) to deliver a Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Camp Project in Nepal. We interviewed project members about meeting AMDA-MINDS, actual activities in which they are involved, and their future vision for local communities.
A timely “meeting of minds” takes the project to the starting line
The city of Kathmandu where the project started
The relationship between Daiichi Sankyo and AMDA-MINDS began in the summer of 2019 at the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) in Yokohama, where Mr. Yamamoto of Daiichi Sankyo visited the AMDA-MINDS booth. Daiichi Sankyo had been working on number of projects aiming to increase access to healthcare in developing countries, focusing mainly on maternal and child health.
Mr. Yamamoto (Daiichi Sankyo): I spoke to Mr. Yamagami of AMDA-MINDS at the booth and explained our stance and the general direction of our projects. Mr. Yamagami suggested possible projects in and beyond Africa, and one of them was the breast and cervical cancer screening camps in Nepal. In Nepal, there are pressing social needs and local demand for a solution to this issue, and given our focus on cancer, I felt it was a good match and decided to move forward.
In Nepal, awareness of the importance of prevention and early detection through regular breast and cervical cancer screenings is not yet established. Screening coverage is low, and in many cases, by the time women come forward, their cancer is already well advanced. Breast and cervical cancer make up 30% of cancer deaths among Nepalese women, and measures to facilitate early detection and treatment are needed.
Ms. Kobayashi in
local attire
Ms. Kobayashi (AMDA-MINDS): Then Daiichi Sankyo fortuitously came to us. Projects to tackle noncommunicable diseases in developing countries were sorely needed but not yet widely found. This encounter between Daiichi Sankyo and AMDA-MINDS led to the start of our collaboration as an expansion of existing services.
Local residents undergoing screenings at the camp
Establishing cancer screening habits and raising awareness of the importance of prevention and early detection
The project officially started in January 2021 in the Gokarneshwar Municipality in Kathmandu District. It consists of breast and cervical cancer screening tests and awareness-raising activities about the importance of early detection. To start with, mammography, ultrasonography, and colposcopy equipment was brought in, and local medical workers were trained in screening procedures. So far, 14 sessions have been held and 700 women*1 have been screened. Those with abnormal results have been referred to specialist medical facilities.
* As of November 2021
In a conservative country like Nepal, many obstacles have to be overcome to make women understand the importance of screening and persuade them to come forward. AMDA-MINDS engages with local women with empathy and sensitivity.
Ms. Okuda with local children
Ms. Okuda （AMDA-MINDS): We notify women of a screening session through door-to-door visits conducted by the 111 local health volunteers. Sometimes husbands try to prevent their wives from receiving the screening, but the volunteers tenaciously persuade them. One woman who received screening said, "I have been worrying about pain in my breast for the last five months and feel so much better now that I have been tested." To communicate the need for screening, the project began to carry out awareness-raising activities for local mothers and women's groups about the importance of prevention and early detection, and how cancer is treated. During the breast cancer awareness month in October, a breast cancer survivor was invited to talk at an event. We have received positive comments from participants that it was useful to hear someone's first-hand experience.
Raising awareness of the importance of prevention and early detection and creating purpose in lives
It has been just over ten months since the start of the project, and the local people are not only more motivated to receive cancer screening, but also motivated to protect their own health through prevention and early detection. The project also appears to add a little more color to the lives of the local volunteers.
Ms. Okuda (AMDA-MINDS): When I went to an event during the breast cancer awareness month, one of the volunteers came to me and said, “I've been hoping to see you! I am so happy that I could participate in this work.” It's pleasing to think that this project may be giving people a new purpose in life.
The project is scheduled to run for three years until the end of 2023. Kobayashi highlights two key points to its success.
Ms. Kobayashi (AMDA-MINDS): In a society where women are oppressed, the key is to be creative with your approach to changing women's own minds to health. We are running various awareness-raising activities with local volunteers, but it would be good to design them to be more accessible to diverse people—perhaps through events that attract not just women but also men, teenagers, and children.
During the second year, we plan to involve the local administration to develop an organizational structure that allows public clinics to continue running the screening camps after the project ends. We would also like to plan activities through which medical workers other than doctors can learn the skills to conduct screenings.
To build a healthcare infrastructure in a developing country, it is important to help the local initiative of its operations.
Local support and
management is
the key to long-term
success, says Mr. Yamagami
Mr. Yamagami (AMDA-MINDS): This project will eventually be handed over to the regional administration and local volunteers, so our role is to give them an encouraging nudge on their back. The real beginning comes after the project is over. The local people are the main actors, and we can provide appropriate support as they run activities themselves. Noncommunicable diseases including cancer now cause more deaths than infectious diseases in developing countries. This experience will make a positive impact on projects in other countries.
Creating a virtuous circle of raised awareness, screening, early detection, and a reduced death rate
Poor access to healthcare due to social factors, such as inequality in public health, education and income, and unmet medical needs, are a global social issue. Widening access to healthcare is one of our important missions as a pharmaceutical company. We are running projects guided by our group policy on access to healthcare, with three main aims: advancing research and development; improving availability of drugs; and reinforcing regional medical infrastructure.
Mr. Yamamoto (Daiichi Sankyo): Our regional healthcare development projects are based on the principle of using all available resources to establish an infrastructure, build capacity and resolve staff shortages. In the Nepal project, we are introducing mammography, producing educational materials for awareness raising, and training local health volunteers. We hope this will lead to greater awareness of the importance of prevention and screening throughout the local community. Eventually, we expect to see an established organizational structure through which the local people will be able to maintain the virtuous circle of higher screening coverage, earlier detection, and lower death rates.
Kanako Takahashi and Katsuhiro Kawakami of Daiichi Sankyo also respond in agreement.
Ms. Takahashi (Daiichi Sankyo): Without a medical infrastructure, we can’t deliver our innovative pharmaceuticals to patients. We will continue responding to the local needs and achieve Purpose: Contribute to the enrichment of quality of life around the world.
Mr. Kawakami (Daiichi Sankyo): As society increasingly demands companies to address environmental, social and governance issues, we will consider what we can do and work in a timely fashion. Our projects across the world are helping to widen global access to healthcare, with more positive achievements to look forward to in the future.
Daiichi Sankyo’s projects in regions across the globe are helping to widen access to healthcare around the world, with more positive achievements to look forward to in the future. Click on the links below for more information.