In Saint-Louis, at Ameth Fall High School, crucial awareness raising was held for young girls on the danger of breast and cervical cancer. An initiative of the Sérigne Amadou Diop Education Health Association (ASADES). Objective: to promote vaccination and screening, essential to preventing these scourges.
Dr Alassane Tall, obstetrician-gynecologist, gave a detailed conference on the need to vaccinate girls aged 9 to 14. The importance of this measure is all the more underlined by the current ravages of the two cancers. With the support of the Senegalese Society of Colposcopy, emphasis was placed on prevention through vaccination and screening from the age of 35.
The event, significant and emotional, brought together members of the educational community, parents and associations. Ms. Sy Khady Bâ, principal, insisted on intensive awareness-raising, recalling that 1,300 annual deaths could be avoided by massive vaccination.
The poignant testimony of Ms. Sow Marième Camara, president of the Cercle de Saly, moved the audience. Having lost a loved one to cancer, she campaigns to break the taboo surrounding the disease. Ms. Diop Diariétou Guèye, from the Academy Inspectorate, calls for massive support for the awareness campaign.
An anti-HPV vaccination and free screening program followed, marking an important step in the local fight against these cancers in Senegal.
Senegal
