In 2009, BUP set up a Women's Health Programme dubbed See-And-Treat Approach (pilot project) funded by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), aimed at preventing cervical cancer through screening and timely access to treatment. Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in Botswana.
Iris Radira is a 24-year-old tertiary student and has never undergone cervical cancer screening. She has heard of the importance of going for screening, but she thought the condition was exclusive to HIV positive women. "I thought only HIV positive women are affected and there was no need for me to undergo the screening," Radira says. She doesn't know about the the See-And-Treat Approach but reckons it is a good initiative. Radira says just like educating a woman is crucial as per a common saying in the Setswana culture, so is preventing mortality among women. "I am not saying men's lives are not important, but given the role women play in the society-being mothers, caregivers and mostly heading households, it is important to prevent dangerous conditions such as cervical cancer," she says.
