Grants are First in a Three-Year Partnership with the Caterpillar Foundation to Increase Screening Rates in Low Resource Countries
Monterrey, Mexico – August 26, 2011 – Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the world’s leading breast cancer organization, today announced $238,000 in grants in Mexico to improve breast health care in the country. The grants are the first of a three-year, $2 million partnership with the Caterpillar Foundation to increase breast cancer awareness, screening and early detection outcomes in low-resource communities in Mexico and throughout Latin America.
The grants were announced today at a press conference at Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey. Following the announcement, a roundtable as held to discuss the state of Monterrey’s health system for breast care. Participants in the roundtable included Mexico’s Minister of Health for the State of Nuevo Leon, Dr. Jesus Zacarias Villarreal Perez; Dr. Catherine Oliveros of Susan G. Komen for the Cure; Alfredo Rodriguez Villarreal, Human Resources Manager for Caterpillar Mexico and Komen partners and grantees.
The grants announced today will award $150,000 to Fundación Climab: Monterrey to bolster education and awareness programs, patient services and advocacy programs in marginalized communities of the Monterrey metropolitan area. The second, $88,000 grant will allow Hope Worldwide Monterrey, AC to provide more training to medical students who currently receive only 14 hours of breast health and breast cancer training during pre-med and residency training. Hope Worldwide will conduct six, 20-hour comprehensive training courses for medical students, focusing on breast self-awareness, cancer diagnosis and treatment.
“The Caterpillar Foundation’s generous support gives us a unique opportunity to truly make a life-saving impact for thousands of women and men in Mexico,” said Susan G. Komen President Elizabeth Thompson. “By sharing what we have learned in three decades of leading the breast cancer movement, and investing in trusted partners who are already doing great work, we will significantly increase their reach and capacity to help women in the region.”
Since 2006, breast cancer has been the number one cause of cancer-related death among women aged 30 to 54 in Mexico, with women dying from breast cancer at the equivalent of one death every two hours or more than 4,400 deaths per year. More than half of breast cancer cases in Mexico are diagnosed at advanced or late stages.
“We know that many breast cancer deaths can be avoided by early screening and early, effective treatment,” Thompson said.
The growing demands to reduce breast cancer mortality prompted Susan G. Komen for the Cure to launch the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Global Health Alliance in 2010 and the Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness in 2007.
In March, the Caterpillar Foundation committed $2 million to increase breast cancer awareness and improve screening rates in Latin America. The unprecedented three-year partnership will award community grants to Komen’s partner non-governmental organizations in Monterrey, Mexico; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Panama City, Panama to develop innovative early detection and awareness programs through existing breast health advocacy programs in those countries.
"We welcome the opportunity to join forces with Susan G. Komen at the grassroots level in Mexico,” said Kim Hauer, Caterpillar Chief HR Officer and Vice President of the Human Services Division. “Through its Human Sustainability mission, the Caterpillar Foundation promotes access to basic human needs around the world. With Susan G. Komen, we will raise the awareness of breast cancer and promote the importance of early screenings. The more people who know about breast cancer, the better the chance of early detection and treatment."
Recognizing the growing global impact of breast cancer, the shared challenges among countries worldwide and the value of coordinated advocacy in the battle against this disease, Susan G. Komen for the Cure began exploring outreach outside the U.S. in 1999. The organization has provided more than $27 million in funding for international breast cancer research and more than $17 million for international community education and outreach programs in more than 50 countries.
For more information on Komen’s outreach in Mexico, please click here.
About the Caterpillar Foundation
The Caterpillar Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Caterpillar, Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment. Founded in 1952, the Caterpillar Foundation has contributed nearly $400 million to help make sustainable progress possible around the world by providing program support in the areas of environmental sustainability, access to education and basic human needs. More information is available at www.caterpillar.com/foundation
