Eight community projects designed to address some of the most pressing issues Mexico faces in the fight against breast cancer have received support from Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the global leader in the breast cancer movement.

The projects are aimed at increasing early detection of breast cancer and include establishing a formal breast cancer network in Mexico City, conducting the first-ever breast cancer awareness workshops in the Triqui indigenous region of Oaxaca, and establishing a partnership between a private hospital in Monterrey and Nuevo Leon’s Ministry of Health to offer breast health training to medical professionals in community health centers.

The combined total of the eight community grants is nearly $62,000. Grants were based on the individual project’s ability to address needs identified in community profiles, potential for sustainability, impact on breast health, innovation, and collaboration.

The press conference announcing the awards, held in Mexico City, was attended by Annetta Hewko, Komen for the Cure’s vice president of Global Strategy and Programs, Stacey Ramirez, Latin America program officer for the Institute of International Education (IIE), and Bertha Aguilar, founder and president of Fundacion Cim*ab, the lead partner in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness in Mexico.

“With more than 1 million women worldwide receiving a breast cancer diagnosis each year, it has never been more critical to increase advocacy for, and education about, this life-threatening disease,” said Hewko. “We are creating a dynamic global network of dedicated breast health activists with the skills, knowledge and vision to play a strategic role in their country’s response to breast cancer.”

Komen and IIE launched the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness in 2007, and it is now active in nine countries. The community projects are a result of the work carried out by a network of breast cancer advocates who have participated in Komen’s training series, Course for the Cure™, during the past year. Global Initiative advocates then designed community projects to address gaps in breast health awareness and education.

The Global Initiative has established strong partnerships with local leaders in breast health and identified, recruited and trained nearly 600 women and men in 24 communities in advocacy, fundraising, health education, volunteerism and community assessment. In each country, these advocates develop a community profile of breast health and identify barriers to care or “gaps” in breast health that had never before been compiled. They then develop plans for education, outreach, awareness and advocacy efforts to improve breast health outcomes.

Komen is also sponsoring innovative six-month projects in Costa Rica, Brazil, Romania and Ukraine.

Founded in 1919, the Institute of International Education (IIE) is one of the world’s most experienced global higher education and professional exchange organizations. IIE has long worked to implement international training programs to build leadership skills and enhance the capacity of individuals and organizations to address local and global challenges. The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness is managed by IIE West Coast Center in San Francisco.

For more information about the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness, contact Email. This press release was issued in Mexico City Feb. 26, 2009, and entitled Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness Awards Eight Community Grants in Mexico. 

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