Saudi Arabia: Women Revved Up To Spread Word on Breast

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 RIYADH 000946 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/PPD (DBENZE, PAGNEW); NEA/ARP (BMCGRATH); NEA/PI; R WHITE HOUSE FOR ANITA MCBRIDE; NSC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KWMN KPAO SA SUBJECT: Saudi Arabia: Women Revved Up To Spread Word on Breast Cancer Awareness REF: 07 RIYADH 2180 ¶1. (U) Summary and comment: After First Lady Mrs. Laura Bush's historic visit to Saudi Arabia and her October 2007 launch of the US-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness in Saudi Arabia, a fragile partnership is moving forward. Mrs. Bush's visit attracted national attention to this issue and inspired women to get screened, and to get involved. Much progress has been made with the start of an awareness course in four cities, and a recently implemented research partnership. Women and residents of difficult-to-reach areas like extremist-stronghold Al-Qassim are enthused about spreading the word on this deadly disease, and thanks to this partnership we are reaching new audiences. Comment: Mrs. Bush's follow-on visit to the King Fahad Medical Center to learn about progress certainly helped continue the momentum. Continued engagement at political levels will be necessary to ensure the partnership remains on track. End summary and comment. Awareness Training: Course for the Cure Launched - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (SBU) The US-Middle East Breast Cancer Partnership for Awareness and Research with Saudi Arabia entered a new phase in February 2008 with the launch of the Susan G. Komen Course for the Cure Awareness training. Training sessions took place in four cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Qassim and Dammam. Saudi women interested in spreading breast cancer awareness throughout the Kingdom attended the training sessions, led by two master trainers who were certified at the Komen Center in the US. Master trainers Huwayda Darweesh and Fatima Al-Qarzaee (please protect names) presented the Community Profile Module one-day session to an audience of 15-20 women at each location from February 23-27. A two-hour Media Workshop was also presented to smaller groups of public affairs professionals to provide tips on building an advocacy campaign around this public health issue. With these training sessions, Saudi Arabia became the first country in the world to implement the Susan G. Komen Course for the Cure under a partnership agreement. Through this program, participants themselves will have the capacity to create their own community-based breast cancer outreach programs in Saudi Arabia. A New Partnership Advances - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (U) US-based partners were actively involved in the training sessions in a show of support for a fragile partnership and to further institutionalize the program. NEA Senior Advisor Erin Walsh, Institute for International Education/Komen Global Initiative Representative Patricia Tierney, and Pulitzer Prize-winning freelance journalist Caryle Murphy, together with several representatives of the US implementing organization ICF International comprised the US delegation. Dr. Mushabbab Al-Asiri, Saudi Cancer Society (SCS) senior representative, and Dr. Samia Al-Amoudi, breast cancer survivor, member of the SCS's High Committee on Breast Cancer, and key driver on the Saudi side, were the main Saudi interlocutors. The key players further cemented their working relationships during the visit. Dr. Al-Amoudi made the complete four-city tour, attending each of the training sessions, presenting her personal testimony as a survivor, and underscoring the need for early detection. Strong Buy-in Signals Public Receptivity - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (U) The training sessions targeted health educators, staff from women's associations and charitable societies, nurses and nursing students. Enthusiastic and engaged, the 'trainees' connected well with the female master trainers. Zahra Breast Cancer Society Chair Princess Haifa bint Faisal bint Abdulaziz Al-Saud (and wife of Prince Bandar, former Ambassador to the US) attended the Riyadh media advocacy workshop. The Al-Qassim program took place under the sponsorship of Princess Noura Bint Mohamad Al-Saud, Chair of the Qassim Women's Society and Qassim's Breast Cancer Awareness Program, who hosted the delegation at one of her residences. Princess Noura, wife of the Governor of Qassim, even took out a half-page advertisement in English-language Arab News to show her support and to thank Partnership advocates. Al-Qassim Health Services Director Dr. Atif bin Mohmad Suror also provided immense support, but support from the women involved is what really resonated with the participants and inspired them to break the cultural taboos on this subject. Princess Noura's involvement in this project from the beginning has been a driving factor behind the initiative. Course for the Cure, Striving for Completion - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - RIYADH 00000946 002 OF 003 ¶5. (SBU) The Course for the Cure goal is to increase public awareness on the issue and encourage more women to take advantage of early screening and detection. To this end, Saudi master trainers Huwayda Darweesh and Fatima Al-Qarzaee (please protect names) have been presenting four additional training modules, and are set to complete the course by the end of June. At the completion of the course, the participants will be certified to (a) continue spreading the breast cancer awareness message throughout the Kingdom, and (b) build a broad, community-based network of women volunteers working together to further educate women throughout the Kingdom. Strengthening the Partnership through Research - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (U) King Fahad Medical City CEO, Dr. Abdullah Suleiman Al Amro hosted a "Medical Research Meeting on Breast Cancer in Saudi Arabia - Road to the Future," conference March 22-23 to discuss the partnership's research components and areas of possible future collaboration. Representatives of Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the University of Texas's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center worked with the Saudi participants to identify specific areas for collaboration. The group hopes to embark on joint research in gene profiling linked to a common treatment/therapy for breast cancer, and the establishment of an epidemiological database. Al-Qassim: Model Efforts in the Saudi Heartland - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (U) Al-Qassim is a model of how the right program can open doors to engagement in places traditionally hard for us to reach. Health officials have been actively working to raise breast cancer awareness for a number of years, and have welcomed the Partnership's efforts. Facilities like a one-stop Breast Cancer screening and treatment center at capital city Buraidah's Main Hospital and a mobile Mammography Screening Unit, fully staffed by women, show Al-Qassim is serious. The mobile unit travels to remote locations for screenings and the results are telling. According to Dr. Muzamil H. Abdelgadir, Health Education Advisor for the Al-Qassim Breast Cancer Awareness Program, 70% of women surveyed in 2005 had no knowledge of self exams, but 78% were ready to be educated, and 51% thought they should practice breast self exams. These findings, published in the Saudi Medical Journal in 2005, provided the justification for the launch of an awareness program. The region's now active awareness campaign includes the Al-Qassim Women's Committee; local religious leaders, key in an area known for extremist activism, have even been consulted to gain their buy-in concerning screening efforts. The Al-Qassim women continue to advocate for better awareness and better screening facilities, and continue to work to educate women on how early detection will reduce mortality rates. Mrs. Bush Remains Engaged; Momentum Continues - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (U) Mrs. Bush returned to King Fahad Medical Center May 16 to visit with women both working to raise awareness and those benefiting from advanced care thanks to increased screening efforts. Mrs. Bush met with doctors, researchers, hospital administrators, patients, and activists, all of whom enthusiastically embraced the initiative she had kicked off in October of 2007. Her high level of engagement was clearly inspiring to the women present, and many commented her support has given them courage to continue their efforts to overcome cultural taboos to combat this disease. Media Coverage: Extensive, Positive, and Taboo-Shattering - - - - - - ¶9. (U) Following on the impressive media coverage of Mrs. Bush's historic October 2007 visit (ref),each stop along the February four-city tour was prominently featured in the local press thanks to a press conference featuring the American and Saudi partners. In an interview with Saudi TV2, NEA Senior Advisor Erin Walsh discussed the need to raise awareness with male correspondent Fouad Nehed, in an effort to cross a gender barrier, thereby making the discussion a family one. The overwhelmingly positive media reception continued a trend of raising awareness, which was sustained with widespread and prominent coverage of Mrs. Bush's May return trip. Conclusion and Comment - - - - - - - - - - - ¶10. (U) This partnership has had a very high profile launch with many important stakeholders, both American and Saudi, voicing their support. The Course for the Cure is well on its way to completion, RIYADH 00000946 003 OF 003 research partnerships are moving forward, and many women attribute the raised profile of this issue to Mrs. Bush's involvement. On the Saudi side, there have been many growing pains along the way as all of these activities have come together. The support from the American partners has been tremendous. ¶11. (U) Comment: The Saudi ladies involved are inspirational figures, true assets to the partnership initiatives, highly motivated, and certainly capable. Despite Saudi King Abdullah's reformist policies to slowly open more opportunities to women, the Saudi women driving this program do not yet have the full support and backing of the umbrella partner organizations, the Saudi Cancer Society and the King Fahad Medical City. One example was the lack of Saudi institutional administrative and coordinating support during the four-city tour. The network of women graduating from the Komen training course will need full institutional support from these organizations. Only continued and consistent involvement from high-ranking Embassy and State officials will ensure the partnership continues to get the Saudi institutional support it needs. Based on the warm reception to the topic, and the potential for reaching so many Saudis we would not reach otherwise, this initiative is the right program at the right place. We will continue our engagement efforts. End comment and conclusion. FRAKER