Dr. Moise Gale Grah, a physician at the Kindia Health Center in Guinea, received training as part of the SUCCESS II project. He tells us about the origins of his commitment to helping those who are forgotten.
Since my teenage years, I have seen members of my family die from HIV in the 1990s, without us being able to do anything about it. At the time, HIV was a death sentence. It left a lasting impression on me. I told myself: I want to become a doctor so that people can live with this disease, to support those who are forgotten by the system. Today, I am a doctor at the Kindia health center, 84 miles from Conakry. Here, I care for the most vulnerable populations: sex workers, often minors, men who have sex with men, all those whom society rejects. The police persecute them, their families abandon them. My role is to be there, to listen to them, to support them in their vulnerability.
There was this patient I had been treating for HIV for a long time. When Solthis’ SUCCESS II project began, I invited her to come in for a free cervical cancer screening. She tested positive, but it was too late. That affected me deeply. I realized that I had focused on HIV, but not enough on cervical cancer. Thanks to Solthis’ training, I was able to integrate this screening and treatment into my center. Since March, we have screened more than 250 women, and those with precancerous lesions have been treated. Previously, this treatment cost between 10,000 and 15,000 GNF (US$1 to US$1.50) per month. Now it is free. For these women, it is a lifeline. They no longer have to die from this disease.
