Gildan Partners With Leading US Cancer Research Institute for Cervical Cancer Prevention Project on the Factory Floor

In light of World Cancer Day, an international day to raise awareness of cancer and encourage its prevention, Gildan looks back at a meaningful partnership with The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) and the League Against Cancer Honduras on a cancer prevention project in three of their sewing facilities.

Cervical cancer is a leading cause of death for women in Honduras. And while the well-known screening by Pap smear, a proven and successful method for cervical cancer prevention, is mandated by the Honduran national cancer program, only 10% of women get tested every year.

Gildan knows that cervical cancer is a prevalent issue in the nation and should not remain unaddressed. As a result, Gildan partnered with the NCCC, one of the United State’s premier institutes for cancer treatment and research, to implement a cervical cancer screening program that focuses on testing women for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) using a new molecular technology. Together, they invited female employees in three of their facilities to get screened completely free of charge and directly at the company’s on-site medical clinics, making the tests more accessible.

“Thanks to the NCCC and the League Against Cancer Honduras, we were able to provide the HPV screening to over 2,000 women in our workforce” said Claudia Sandoval, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship at Gildan. “We are proud to have participated in this medical research project that helps NCCC identify new types of HPV, thanks to their molecular technology, as well as help reduce incidences of cervical cancer through screening for women at our facilities”, she added.