A large South African province has turned down an offer of a free breast cancer screening truck operated by the nonprofit PinkDrive.
In South Africa, women with medical insurance can attend a radiology center every second year and receive a mammogram plus ultrasound, with the exam costing $100. However, most women don't have insurance and are therefore reliant on government hospitals that own the equipment, which is used primarily for diagnostic rather than screening purposes, according to a blog from South African mammography developer CapeRay Medical.
This leads to a delay of six months before women can be screened, according to an article from South African news outlet Medical Brief. In order to fill the void, nonprofit PinkDrive operates three mobile mammography vans that travel to areas surrounding cities to give women access to breast screening.
But health authorities in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province turned down PinkDrive's offer, in which the provider requested fuel and accommodation for several team members in exchange for providing free mammography services.
A spokesperson for the KZN Department of Health justified the refusal by drawing a line between screening and treatment, which involves diagnostic mammography. But an opposition politician said he would welcome the use of the truck due to the long wait times for screening in the country.
