Cervical cancer and storytelling cloth in Mali

Cervical cancer

Credit Image: Healthy women

Throughout the world, art is being used within communities to meet the local needs. To be most effective for such projects, program participants should ensure: Make sure their program goals are locally defined; Research which can feed art forms, materials and events best in your program's goals; Develop artistic products that address their goals, And evaluate these products to ensure their efficacy. The work of the Global Alliance for the Vaccine Foundation against AIDS in Mali presents an example of this.

In Africa, the rate of cervical cancer is five times higher in women than in the United States, and in Mali's cervical cancer rate in West Africa is the highest. In order to provide human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in Mali, local health authorities are working with international organizations. Vaccination will have an important effect on the burden of cervical cancer in Mali, yet the success of methods of prevention will hinge on increasing awareness of HPV and cervical cancer.

After completing elementary studies on cervical cancer and HPV knowledge in Mali, the organization responded to the critical awareness of the community awareness and education through the clothing storytelling on HPV and cervical cancer. Using clothes to convey messages is a common practice in Mali and many other parts of Africa; For example, pagans (referring to the length of the printed cloth) can have local proverbs, particularly promising political leaders, or international events. The textile pattern is made locally and it is used to make clothes and accessories worn by men and women.

An initiative in Mali was focused on an omen whose word "I protect myself, I take care of myself, and I have been criticized" as a banner of images of healthy cervical, fallopian tubes, and uterus. has gone. A background of healthy cells changes in the surrounding cancer cells of the HPV virus, which creates a visual story linking HPV infection to the post-coccygeal cancer development. An important addition to the textile pattern came from members of the community: When the concept and significance were explained during the focus groups, the women had mentioned a special martian saying, "restrictive kafila ni Bana for", which means It is better to stop treatment. "This proverb was included in the final version of the pattern. Additional initial feedback was also included in the pattern; It included coloring preferences, design scale, and changing terms used on clothing.

The academic program was the basis for comprehensive programs for the prevention of cervical cancer funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The goal was to maximize screening in five participating community health clinics, educate the residents of the neighborhood, and to find priorities for HPV vaccination. Beginning March 2015, the organization worked closely with Mali's Regional Health Department to run Health Care Worker Training Program for capacity building for cervical cancer screening. A Televised Campaign Launch included clothing and health care professionals involved in the initiative. The organization provided adequate clothes for midwives, doctors and outreach workers to wear two clothes, which were worn during community education sessions in community clinics and nearby areas. Community health workers used clothes to help women interpret HPV and cervical cancer, and encouraged women to participate in screening cervical cancer. Local radio stations also promoted the availability of screening of cervical cancer. Finally, the organization provided screening supplies during the six months of the campaign.

The results of the project were very positive. Some 78% of the women participating in the clinic or neighborhood education session had seen the storytelling cloth, and the vast majority was able to correctly identify the image. The organization evaluated the effectiveness of the textile education campaign that tells the HPV story on awareness by measuring the increase in screening rates, which saw a dramatic five-fold increase during the same period last year. Interest in the HPV vaccine was high; 92.6% of participants in a survey expressed interest in the vaccine available in Mali, and 87.4% said that they would vaccinate their daughters. When asked why they would choose HPV vaccination for their daughters, 84% of respondents in the survey responded that this story is related to textile awareness campaign; 73% mentioned "prevention" or "protection" and 11% responded with the exact adage printed on the fabric. Participants got a bag made of HPV fabric so that they could help educate others. Through the survey, the organization was able to obtain information about many related issues, such as Parents need to agree to immunization, how best to contact parents when vaccination is available, And where people like to give vaccinations. This information was told to help public health officials to ensure that future vaccination efforts are effective.

To make the AIDS vaccine foundation work with textile and HPV in Mali to empower the Global Alliance, people and organizations around the world are using the arts to change the communities. In this case, an organization has prepared the historical use of textiles to communicate the message within a community and has developed a new product that meets contemporary needs. This example illustrates how organizations can test new products; Such testing programs help the staff improve the design and to make sure their initiative has a lasting effect.