(Photo courtesy of Pamalakaya)
MANILA, Philippines — As the nation commemorates Women’s Month, 50 fisherwomen from the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) received free cervical cancer screening on Saturday.
The screening was conducted in partnership with Scale Up Cervical Cancer Elimination with Secondary Prevention Strategy (Success), a project from international health agency Unitaid.
“We value the health of fisherfolk women and support them, so they can actively perform in their duties for the advancement of the fishing rights. We also want to bring this kind of medical service closer to them since it has been inaccessible for the vulnerable sectors, like the fisherfolks, for so long,” said Pamalakaya in a statement on Friday.
“Oftentimes, their role in the pre-harvest and post-harvest productions are undervalued as mere extension of their household and domestic chores. This makes them even more neglected to basic socio-economic services and other forms of government support,” said Pamalakaya.
The selected fisherwomen have taken active roles in combating reclamation activities and championing the welfare of fishers, said Pamalakaya.
According to Unitaid’s website, cervical cancer kills a woman every two minutes, and nine out of 10 women who die from the disease come from low to middle income countries where information about the illness is limited.
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