One woman in eight is at risk of developing breast cancer, according to statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO). Once the cancer stage has been reached, it is too late to save a life. The only way to reduce mortality from this type of cancer is through early detection.. In Benin, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, with an average of one woman in twenty at risk. It remains the leading cause of death in women. And yet, if detected early, it can be cured, with less severe treatment and less serious after-effects. In response to this tragedy for women, the international community has decided to organise a worldwide campaign to raise awareness of the importance of early cancer detection, called "Pink October", every October. This is the 28th year of the campaign.ème edition this year.
Action Education wanted to do its bit for the global breast cancer screening awareness campaign. As part of the Support for Governance and Relay Initiatives for Quality Education in Benin (AGIR-BENIN) project, it organised a training/awareness-raising session on breast cancer screening and community life for members of the Cercles de réflexion de femmes (CRF) and Associations des mères d'élèves (AME) on 23 November 2022. A total of 328 participants, including 288 women and 40 men, took part in this training session in all 8 communes of the Atlantic department. The overall aim of the training is to build the capacity of the members of the CRFs and AMEs in order to increase their power to act in the protection of all children, especially girls, to ensure that they complete their schooling. The aim is to enable participants to develop a positive community life and, using the funds generated by their income-generating activities, to help children stay in school.
The AGIR project is being implemented by the Action Éducation and Plan International Benin consortium with financial support from the Swiss Cooperation in Benin.
