PROVIDENCE, R.I., Nov. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded $100,000 to GAIA Vaccine Foundation to test whether dissemination of a printed cloth that tells the story of HPV and cervical cancer, coupled with a media campaign led by influential women musicians, will improve HPV knowledge and incite women to be screened for cervical cancer and (when vaccine is available) to vaccinate their daughters against HPV in West Africa. Cervical cancer is one of the most common and lethal cancers (67% mortality) among women in Africa, with rates that are approximately 5 fold higher than in the US. Nine out of ten (87%) cervical cancer deaths occur in less developed regions of the world, like Mali. This exceptionally high rate of cervical cancer is almost entirely due to lack of knowledge about HPV, since at least in Mali, cervical cancer screens are free and available at every health center.
Gates Foundation is funding the innovative idea that story-telling 'Pagnes', a traditional cloth worn by most women in West Africa, can motivate women to be screened for cancer while making use of fashion to disseminate cervical cancer education. Previous research by GAIA Vaccine Foundation uncovered a very low rate of knowledge about the association between HPV and cervical cancer in Mali [http://bit.ly/HPV_Mali]: less than 3 in 100 persons were aware of the connection between HPV and cervical cancer, and cervical cancer testing rates were extremely low.
"If you don't know the connection, you have no motivation to get tested," said Annie De Groot MD, GAIA Vaccine Foundation's Scientific Director. And you certainly won't vaccinate your daughter against HPV infection, which has been shown to prevent cervical cancer. "These life-saving tests and vaccines are already available in the US and Europe, and it is about time that they were available to West African women too."
Dr. De Groot stated: "We are extremely grateful to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for funding this project. We plan to further expand the distribution of this cloth throughout West Africa. Producing it locally will create jobs for local businesses and tailors in Mali, and the fashion 'buzz' about the cloth will successfully transmit this message to women at risk of cervical cancer." At a recent focus group in West Africa Eliza Squibb, the artist who is now the GAIA Vaccine Foundation Executive Director, met with enthusiastic women and men who were all ready to wear the cloth. (see pictures). Designs are in the works for Ebola, HIV and TB. For more information about the cloth and the GAIA Vaccine foundation, visit http://www.GAIAVaccine.org. To donate to GAIA VF and support this project, and others like it, interested persons are invited to visit https://www.globalgiving.org/donate/1196/gaia-vaccine-foundation/.
For information on HPV in West Africa, see: http://www.GAIAVaccine.org/HPV.
For more information, on GAIA Vaccine Foundation see http://www.GAIAVaccine.org.
For information about Eliza Squibb, artist and designer of the Story Telling Cloth, see http://bit.ly/HPV_Cloth_Project.
For information about Annie De Groot MD, please see Dr. De Groot ‘s bio at EpiVax. For information on the iCubed see. http://www.immunome.org/
Contact information:
Eliza Squibb
Executive Director,
GAIA Vaccine Foundation
+1 207 706 6082
or +1 401 453 2068
or Anne S. De Groot M.D.
+1 401 952 4227
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141106/157036
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141106/157037LOGO
SOURCE GAIA Vaccine Foundation
