The government has been urged to establish a legally binding framework to guarantee affordable breast cancer diagnosis and treatment for all women, irrespective of their location or financial status.
Executive Director of the Busia Institute for Rural and Democratic Development (BIRDD), Dr Anane Agyei, said public awareness campaigns alone would not reduce deaths from the disease without timely access to diagnosis and treatment.
He said the concentration of specialised health facilities in Accra and Kumasi, coupled with the high cost of care, continued to disadvantage women in rural communities and those in the informal sector.
Dr Agyei cited data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which estimated that Ghana recorded 5,487 new breast cancer cases and 2,695 deaths in 2024.
He said although public education campaigns, particularly during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, encouraged women to seek screening, their impact would remain limited if women could not afford essential diagnostic services and treatment.
He stressed that women who discovered breast lumps needed timely access to scans, biopsies and specialist care to improve their chances of survival. Read More.
FROM KINGSLEY E. HOPE, KUMASI
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