In 2009, during the American ambassador Clifford Sobel's stay in Brazil, his wife Barbara Sobel was very impacted by the lack of access of Brazilian women to mammograms. Seeking to change this scenario, she joined other people touched by the situation, such as the Brazilian Andrea Pereira, and founded the NGO Americas Amigas. "We came up with the mission to increase the number of mammographies in public and private hospitals to serve the low-income population," says Andrea, CEO of the NGO.

In addition to donating the equipment, the NGO monitors the use and operation of the mammography devices to ensure that full capacity is used, and conducts ongoing training with the technicians for better results. The training also prevents people from taking the exam unnecessarily and occupying another person's place in line. "From 2012 to now we have impacted more than 1,700 professionals," says Andrea.

Another important point is the agility in the service. The women already leave the appointment with the exam in hand. This helps in the other steps of the process, such as scheduling a biopsy or a closer follow-up, if necessary. So far, more than 1.1 million cisgender and transgender women and men have been seen throughout the country.

Mammography Everywhere

One of the works of Américas Amigas is to take the exams to regions where the health operation is deficient. The NGO works with carts to inland cities and ships to riverside cities. "The ship's team, for example, goes out for four-month activities, passing through different locations. We also work with advance registration on the internet, radio campaigns and other vehicles that take the information to the population," says Andrea.

The NGO is finalizing an action that has traveled the Amazon, Tapajós, Xingu, and Pará rivers. In the second half of the year, it plans to offer training, donate mammography devices, and carry out exams that benefit women in hundreds of municipalities. "The donation of two mammography devices in the Northeast can benefit 120 municipalities, for example.

Part of the work of Américas Amigas also occurs in partnership with companies. In March, in celebration of Women's Month, the NGO had the support of brands such as Estée Lauder, Intimissimi, Natural One, Tania Bulhões and Tenda Atacado. During this period, 800 mammograms were performed.

In the second semester, with a volunteer campaign in the backlands of Bahia, together with Fleury, the NGO expects to assist 400 people. The initiative is part of the Pink October campaigns, which continues until December. In São Paulo, the expectation is to reach 4,200 people in the same period.

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Source: https://exame.com/esg/ong-americas-amigas-leva-mamografias-gratuitas-para-todo-o-brasil/