Grants are Part of Three-Year Partnership with the Caterpillar Foundation to Improve Breast Cancer Outcomes in Low Resource Countries
SAO PAULO, Brazil – October 20, 2011 – Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the world’s leading breast cancer organization, today announced $250,000 in grants over the next year to Brazil breast cancer organizations. The grants are the latest to be announced in Komen for the Cure’s $2 million, three-year partnership with the Caterpillar Foundation to increase breast cancer awareness and improve breast cancer outcomes in low-resource communities in Latin America.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women in Brazil, with a significant number of women arriving for initial treatment at later stages of the disease. Komen has partnered with Brazil breast cancer organizations since 2007 to help improve education and early detection of the disease.
Today, Komen and the Caterpillar Foundation announced two grants:
• $100,000 to the Instituto Mimboé – arquitectura e construção humana of Sao Paulo, to develop an extensive media and breast cancer education campaign centered on a photo exhibition – De Peito Aberto (“Open Heart, the self-esteem of women with breast cancer”) at major shopping centers. The exhibit is expected to reach as many as 6 million people.
• $150,000 to Sociedad Beneficente Israelita Brasileira Albert Einstein to develop an internet-based and train-the-trainer program to improve breast cancer screening rates in Sao Paulo. It is estimated that 45-65 percent of women ages 40-65 have access to mammography in state capitals in Brazil; however, only 34 percent get a mammogram due to barriers related to access, and psychological and/or social limitations.
The grants were announced at a meeting of breast cancer advocates and health leaders in Sao Paulo, attended by senior representatives from Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Caterpillar Brasil, Ltd. as well as Albert Einstein Hospital and Instituto Mimboe. Also present at the event were Global Initiative member organizations and other Komen grantees. Komen has partnered in Brazil with almost 70 organizations in Brazil, through the Susan G. Komen Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness, a program aimed at increasing education and screening platforms.
The growing demands to reduce breast cancer mortality, not only in Latin America, but all over the world, prompted Komen to launch the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Global Health Alliance in 2010 and the Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness in 2007. At the heart of Komen’s global outreach is Course for the CureTM, a series of customized training modules that draws on nearly 30 years of experience in breast cancer awareness and advocacy.
The Caterpillar Foundation pledged its support to Komen earlier this year with the $2 million, three-year partnership aimed at three countries in Central and South America. In the past three months, Komen and Caterpillar have announced grants totaling almost $500,000 for similar education and outreach programs in Mexico and Panama.
“We welcome the opportunity to join forces with Susan G. Komen at the grassroots level in Brazil,” 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 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.
