According to the WHO, breast cancer survival rates are lower when the diagnosis is delayed and there is no appropriate medical treatment– the two main reasons for the high mortality rate in developing countries. In fact, the breast cancer five-year survival rate ranges from more than 90% in high-income countries to 66% in India and 40% in South Africa.

In Ghana, breast cancer accounts for around 15% of all malignancies and nearly 50% of women diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 died from this disease.

BCI has been running outreach programs for women throughout Ghana since 2002. The program includes educating and screening for signs of breast cancer, increasing community awareness to help downstage disease at diagnosis and expanding the availability of clinical breast examination and screening, as well as increasing access to quality care and treatment. BCI’s activities take place in rural communities where most women are farmers and part of vulnerable communities, often traveling from all over Ghana to receive healthcare.

Teva has committed to a three-year partnership to provide medicines for patients in the program and is hoping to scale the program both within Ghana and internationally.