Dear Neil and HIFA Colleagues,
Attended today (19 May) a very interesting Ministerial Roundtable at the WHA Side Event in the UN Palais on Elimination of Cervical Cancer.
Moderator Dr Magda Robalo, President IGHD Guinea Bissau. Presentations: The Minister of Health, South Africa, Ministry of Health, Nepal, the WHO, and UNITAID.
The last presenter (Kenya) told the reality on the ground with her lived experience:
She was diagnosed with HIV in the 90’s, which she survived.
After a few years, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer (late stage) requiring a hysterectomy, and she survived it.
After a few years, she was diagnosed with colorectal cancer and is now surviving it with a colostomy (bag).
In this journey, she mentioned that there was no empathy or counselling by the health worker when she was informed of the diagnosis of HIV and later cervical cancer.
In this journey, she lost 2 children, and her husband of 10 years abandoned her.
She told the audience ‘Don’t feel pity for me because I’m well, but I ask you all .. What will you do after this meeting towards eliminating cervical çancer?’
The Minister of Health of South Africa Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, shared his experience as a young doctor about his patients and relatives, how there is a lack of awareness and so much stigma to report the early signs of cervical cancer, therefore South Africa has made a commitment to eliminate Cervical Cancer.
Best wishes
Dr. Meena Nathan Cherian, MBBS, MD (Anaesthesia)
(Former WHO Lead Emergency and Essential Surgical Care Program, Geneva, Switzerland).
Director, Global Health New Challenges: Geneva Foundation for Medical Education & Research, Switzerland. <http://www.gfmer.ch/surgery/cancer.htm> www.gfmer.ch/surgery/cancer.htm (NSA-WHO)
Senior Advisor Global Action International Society of Geriatric Oncology <https://siog.org/about-us/governance/leadership/permanent-committees/> Permanent Committees - SIOG
Senior Advisor, International College of Surgeons-Global Affairs. https://icsglobal.org/ (NSA-WHO)
Adjunct Prof.The Chinese University of Hong Kong,Shenzhen,China. https://med.cuhk.edu.cn/en/teacher/371
WHO-HIFA Essential Health Services; mHEALTH-INNOVATE. www.hifa.org <http://www.hifa.org/> (NSA-WHO).
Geneva, Switzerland. <mailto:+41%20763837253> +41 763837253(m); <mailto:cherianm15@gmail.com> cherianm15@gmail.com
HIFA profile: Dr Meena Nathan Cherian was a professor of anaesthesiology from Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore, India. She trained, worked, and taught in several countries, USA (Johns Hopkins Hospital), Southeast Asia and Africa. She worked at the World Health Organization Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland, as the Emergency and Essential Surgical Care Program Lead where she created the ‘surgical care’ program resulting in the first World Health Assembly Resolution on ‘Emergency and Essential Surgical Care and Anaesthesia in the context of Universal Health Coverage’. Currently she works as the Director, Global Health New Challenges program, Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Geneva, Switzerland; Adjunct Prof. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China; Senior Advisor, Global Action, International Society of Geriatric Oncology, Switzerland; she is a member of the HIFA Steering Group; HIFA Partnerships and Projects Working Group; and HIFA mHEALTH-INNOVATE Working Group. cherianm15 AT gmail.com