Posts by Jennie Aylward

We have a responsibility to the women we serve to ensure the steps we are all taking against the coronavirus pandemic do not thwart our goals of improving women’s health in the long term.

The April 6, 2020 issue of The New Yorker included a piece on cervical cancer among women in the U.S. state of Alabama.

Too often, stories about cervical cancer are dominated by numbers. What’s often lost is the women behind these numbers.

Savitha Mallapa lives with her family in Bengaluru city. She’s an entrepreneur and a mother to two teenagers who keep her busy. Like any mother she worries about her children and wants to take every opportunity to protect them from harm. So when Savitha heard that an HPV vaccine might protect her daughter from future cancer, she wanted to know more about it.

Sangeeta’s advice to all women is to be advocates for their own health. She educates those around her about the screening tests for cervical cancer and about the HPV vaccine. Sangeeta is not just a survivor of cervical cancer – she is a powerful advocate.

The sky goes grey as 48-year old Lakshmi heads to the terrace of her house to remove the laundry. She deftly pulls it down and dashes downstairs to pull the buffaloes inside the shed, just as the first drops of rain hit the ground. “I run this house and take care of everything, so I have to stay healthy and make sure nothing happens to me,” says 48-year-old Lakshmi.

In the heart of India’s capital city, New Delhi, Dr. Neerja Bhatla has been working for over two decades to prevent the spread of cervical cancer amongst Indian women. Dr. Bhatla is the Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi. As faculty at one of the largest government hospitals in India, she sees patients from all over India.

Every morning, 30-year-old Jagwati starts her daily ritual by making notes for the group of women she needs to meet in her village. Jagwati is an ‘ASHA’ (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker in Arua village in Haryana, a northern state of India. She’s been working as a community health worker for over 10 years now.

TogetHER had a very productive 2019! We urge you to read about our work over the past year, which has set the stage for a history-making push against cervical cancer. Please browse our report to learn about our unique role alongside many effective service delivery organizations.