With more than 1 million women worldwide receiving a breast cancer diagnosis each year, the need to increase advocacy for and education about this life-threatening disease has never been more urgent.

Although breast cancer is a global disease, reaction and approach to its diagnosis and treatment vary greatly by a country’s cultural norms and economic means. Given that no single approach to breast health will prove effective around the world, local communities must implement innovative programs customized to address local needs.

With this in mind, Susan G. Komen for the Cure® launched the Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness, a program designed to create sustainable breast cancer outreach and education programs around the globe. The Global Initiative was designed and managed by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in San Francisco from 2007-2011 and is implemented in collaboration with local partners in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

CREATING A DYNAMIC GLOBAL NETWORK

The Global Initiative strives to equip diverse networks of individuals and organizations with the skills, knowledge, and support to collectively improve breast cancer outcomes in their communities.

We accomplish this by providing training, opportunities to collaborate and share resources, as well as small grants to launch ideas into collaborative actions addressing breast cancer outreach and advocacy.

Building Capacity

• Network: Through a rich offering of workshops, we connect and train non-governmental organization (NGO) staff, community leaders, health educators, medical professionals, students, academics, religious leaders, breast cancer survivors, as well as business and government officials. In many countries, the resulting network was the first of its kind.

• Train: Training is the primary vehicle through which the Global Initiative supports its network and builds the capacity of participants to better address breast cancer needs locally and globally. At the core of the Initiative is Course for the Cure™ (CFTC), a training curriculum that draws on Komen’s years of experience in breast cancer awareness and advocacy. Participants also have the opportunity to deepen their ability to address breast cancer outcomes through skills workshops designed to respond to local needs and provide the necessary tools to support emerging leaders and networks.

• Research: The Global Initiative provides participants with the tools to identify, understand, and address breast cancer needs in their communities. After collecting and analyzing available data on breast cancer and services, participants identify and prioritize the community’s unmet needs or “gaps” in breast cancer programs. These prioritized gaps form the basis for developing plans for education outreach, awareness programs and advocacy efforts to improve breast cancer outcomes.

• Support: The Community Grants Program supports Course for the Cure™ graduates to transform the lessons learned from training workshops and Community Profile research into action. Global Initiative participants collaborate to design innovative, short-term community projects that address the breast cancer-related gaps identified in their community discovered throughout their Community Profile research.

Global Initiative Participants

The Global Initiative reaches out to a variety of stakeholders, including health educators, NGO staff, Ministry of Health representatives, midwives, religious leaders, health professionals, as well as business and government officials, among others.

Collaboration

Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is the global leader of the breast cancer movement. As the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, Komen is working to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures.

Komen has partnered or funded programs in more than 50 countries as part of its nearly $1.5 billion investment in breast cancer research, education and community programs since 1982.  Komen is proud to sponsor the Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness.

Institute of International Education (IIE) fosters mutual understanding, develops global leaders, and protects academic freedom worldwide through educational exchange and training programs that advance the vision of Opening Minds to the World®. Founded in 1919, the Institute of International Education (IIE) is a private nonprofit leader in the international exchange of people and ideas and is grounded in its core values of integrity, global awareness, collaboration, professionalism, excellence and service. IIE was honored to design and implement Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness from inception into its start-up years. This program aligns with IIE’s mission of building leadership skills and enhancing the capacity of individuals and organizations to address local and global challenges.

Local Partners In each country, IIE collaborates with partner organizations working on women’s rights, advocacy, public health and health education, as well as, medical foundations, hospitals and universities.