KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Worldwide Healing Hands (WHH) is preparing for a one-week mission to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, where the organization will partner with Project Medishare for Haiti to provide women with cervical cancer screenings and treatment.

In addition, the WHH team will train medical staff in Haiti during the trip.

Dr. Paula Dhanda of Kelseyville will be joined in January by two other physicians, two nurses and a fifth-year Haitian medical student to conduct the screenings and treatment.

Cervical cancer cases number 94 per every 100,000 women in Haiti, giving Haiti the distinction of having the highest incident rate in the world. However, the cancer is preventable and treatable, said Dr. Dhanda.

“Haitian women do not receive even the most basic gynecologic care due to few resources and limited access to medical professionals trained in the screening and treatment methods. Pap smears are not available to women in these low-resource areas. Providing screening even once for a woman can save her life,” she said.

While conducting the screenings, WHH will provide training for at least two Haitian OB/GYNs and staff in the methods used to screen and treat a woman in a single visit.

Dr. Dhanda noted that WHH teaches the single visit approach so women, no matter where they live, can be screened and treated.

“This life-saving approach is vital; when a mother dies, her children are 10 times more likely to die within two years,” she said.

The Haiti mission in January is the most recent WHH project in which the nonprofit organization seeks to improve the quality of healthcare for women and children in underserved areas of the world.

Previous trips have included missions in Nepal, Chad and Haiti.

WHH partners with medical organizations around the world to provide compassionate medical and surgical care in a way that is respectful to the cultural beliefs of the women.

Medical personnel donate their time and expertise with a goal of training local physicians and midwives so that WHH’s work is sustainable.

The majority of funding for Worldwide Healing Hands is provided by donations.

To learn more about WHH’s efforts and missions or to donate to WHH, visit www.worldwidehealinghands.org .

Financial contributions may be mailed directly to WHH at 5685 Main Street, Kelseyville, CA 95451.