Telecel Launches Free Cervical Cancer Screenings

The Telecel Foundation has partnered with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to launch a nationwide cervical cancer awareness and screening campaign aimed at improving early detection and reducing preventable deaths among women.

The campaign seeks to offer free cervical cancer screening to at least 5,000 women annually for the next two years, building on Telecel Group’s donation of advanced diagnostic equipment to three public hospitals: Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Greater Accra, Tamale Teaching Hospital in the Northern Region, and Sefwi Wiawso Hospital in the Western North Region.

Speaking at the launch, Komla Buami, Director of External Affairs at Telecel Ghana, emphasized the Foundation’s approach to addressing challenges in awareness and access to cervical cancer care simultaneously. "We believe real impact lies where there is high utilisation of the advanced diagnostic equipment we have donated to the three hospitals," Mr. Buami said.

The donation of advanced screening equipment, including digital colposcopes, HPV testing kits, and biopsy instruments, is intended to strengthen early diagnosis and expand access to life-saving care, particularly for women who might otherwise be unable to afford screening. In addition to screening services, the Telecel Foundation has supported training for healthcare professionals at beneficiary hospitals to ensure proper use and long-term maintenance of donated equipment.

The Telecel Foundation initiative is being implemented in partnership with the Ghana Medical Trust Fund and the Ministry of Health, combining public education, community outreach, and free screening services to encourage long-term behavioral change around women’s health. Madam Obuobia Darko-Opoku, administrator of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, highlighted the collaboration as a deliberate intervention to save women’s lives, stating, "Today is a statement that women’s lives matter, prevention matters, and the future of women is worth protecting now, not later."

Cervical cancer remains one of the most preventable yet deadly cancers affecting women in Ghana, with fewer than ten percent undergoing routine screening, often resulting in late diagnosis and high mortality rates. According to the World Health Organisation, it is the second most common cancer among Ghanaian women.

Womens health advocates emphasized that partnerships between government and the private sector to encourage widespread screening would be essential if Ghana is to meet the World Health Organisation’s target of screening 70 percent of women aged 21 to 65. Prof. Kwaku Opoku, Head of Reproductive Health at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, noted, "The cervical cancer prevention campaign is about collective responsibility. Every person can be an agent of change by taking the message of early screening and vaccination beyond hospitals and into homes, workplaces, and communities."

Adiza, a stage-3 cervical cancer patient receiving treatment at the Korle-Bu Hospital, shared her experience, saying, "Screening is quick, and it can save your life. I am here today because I discovered it early, and that allowed me to start treatment on time. I want women to know that early screening protects their future."

Through the initiative, the Telecel Foundation aims to reduce avoidable deaths, strengthen public health systems, and support healthier futures for women and families across Ghana.

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