The 12th edition of the ‘BCI Ghana Walk for the Cure’ has been launched in Kumasi in the Ashanti region by Breast Care International (BCI), the event organizer. The event this year is scheduled for Saturday, October 12, 2024, at Ejisu, in the Ejisu municipality in the Ashanti region, according to the organizers. The yearly walk dispels common misconceptions and myths about breast cancer while raising awareness of the condition.
The 2024 edition is on the theme “TOGETHER WE CAN CHANGE THE NARRATIVE ABOUT CANCERS IN AFRICA”. The lead protagonist of the “current war”, which is against breast cancer, is the renowned breast cancer surgeon, Dr. Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai.
BCI Ghana Walk for the Cure is considered Ghana’s biggest and most successful breast cancer awareness campaign. It is anticipated that the walk will bring together individuals from many backgrounds, both domestic and foreign, with an approximate attendance of 20,000. Participants in the walk will include individuals from many backgrounds, including politicians, religious leaders, farmers, students, teachers, traditional leaders, and civil society organizations. Dr. Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai explaining the choice of Ejisu for the walk said she drew inspiration from the leadership of Ejisumanhene, Oguakro Afranie Okese II, and, Ejisumanhemaa, Nana Yaa Asantewaa II. “The two prominent individuals will galvanize women in the country to win another war, this time not with guns, but advocacy, public education, free countrywide screening, seminars and workshops to create public awareness about breast cancer,” she noted.
Surge in breast cancer deaths
Dr. Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, who is also the CEO of Peace and Love Hospitals, addressing the media expressed worry about the recorded deaths of breast cancer in Ghana.
“The country is recording a surge in breast cancer deaths. Before 2020 the country was recording 1,800 deaths out of 4,000 cases, and now it has shot to 2,396 deaths out of 5,000 cases annually since 2020,” she stated. She said, “We will wallow in self-deception and self-denial about this disturbing trend, as our women perish, even though a cure exists if we don’t educate the public about the disease,” she suggested.
BCI Ghana Walk for the Cure background
The maiden edition of the BCI Ghana Race for the Cure took place in Kumasi in 2011, repeating itself the following year in Garden City before hitting the streets of Accra in 2013.
In 2014, it was moved to Sunyani, bounced off to Takoradi in 2015, in 2016, it bounced back to Kumasi, 2017 in to Koforidua and in 2018 to Tamale.
In 2019, Ghana’s biggest and most successful breast cancer awareness campaign was held in Cape Coast, it took a break in 2020 and 2021 due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Accra City held the 11th edition in 2023 after the two-year break, and it has bounced back to the Ashanti region, this time in the Ejisu municipality.
