The Ghana Football Association (GFA), through the GFA Foundation, has begun its annual campaign to promote breast cancer awareness during October, marking the third time since 2023 that it has supported the global observance.
The initiative is being delivered under the Football for Good programme and aims to spread information within the football community and across Ghana. It is part of the GFA Foundations wider work to support projects that improve the lives and livelihoods of football stakeholders and communities, while using football to encourage behavioural and social change.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) campaign is using the theme Every Story is Unique, Every Journey Matters. for the second consecutive year.
The message reflects the different experiences of people affected by breast cancer. Each diagnosis involves an individual, a family and a personal journey, with challenges shaped by factors including the type of diagnosis, treatment, support available and access to healthcare.
Beyond using football to spread the message, we will seek to connect awareness with action by working with health partners to provide education, screening and physical examination and related services at our offices and selected football events, Malcolm Frazier Appeadu, Director of GFA Foundation, said.
During October, the GFA will publish information about breast cancer prevention, risk factors, detection and symptoms. It will also work with partner organisations to offer free screening to the public, with particular emphasis on people involved in football and sport.
A photo campaign using a breast cancer selfie frame will be staged at domestic league matches and other competitions during the month.
Global impact of breast cancer
Breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women worldwide. In 2024, 2.4 million women were diagnosed with the disease and 694,000 died from it.
By the end of 2024, 8.2 million women were living with breast cancer globally, according to the WHO.
The disease accounts for one in eight cancer cases among both sexes and one in four cancer cases among women. Some 70% of deaths occur in resource-constrained settings.
Limited health-system capacity, low levels of awareness and insufficient access to early detection services can lead to diagnoses at a later stage and poorer outcomes.
In many of those settings, breast cancer also affects younger women disproportionately. That contributes to premature deaths and an increasing number of children losing their mothers.
The GFA Foundations campaign will therefore combine awareness activities with education, screening and physical examination services delivered in partnership with health organisations.
