For the whole month of October, the Network of Women Leaders for Development (RFLD) changes its colours. Our logo is now pink and carries the pink ribbon, the international symbol of the fight against breast cancer. You will see it on our website and in our communications until 31 October.
This is a gesture of solidarity with the women who live with breast cancer, with those who care for them, and with the families who have lost a mother, a sister, a daughter or a friend. It is also a reminder that breast cancer is a women’s rights issue.
Why this matters in Africa
Too many African women are diagnosed late, when treatment is harder and more costly. The African Breast Cancer Disparities in Outcomes study, which followed more than 2,000 women in Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia, found that only one woman in three was still alive seven years after her diagnosis. Results published in September 2025 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and The Lancet Global Health also show wide gaps between countries.
Behind these figures are barriers that RFLD and its member organisations see every day: long distances to health facilities, the cost of tests and treatment, fear and stigma, and decisions about women’s health that are too often taken without them.
What each of us can do this month
- Know your body. Any lump, change in the shape or skin of the breast, or discharge from the nipple deserves a visit to a health worker, without waiting.
- Ask about clinical breast examination and screening services available near you, and encourage the women around you to do the same.
- Talk about breast cancer openly in your family, your community and your organisation. Silence delays care.
- Support women in treatment, whether with transport, childcare, company at appointments or simply your time.
Our call
RFLD calls on governments and partners to bring early detection closer to women, especially in rural areas, to reduce the cost of diagnosis and treatment, and to fund the women-led organisations that accompany patients and fight stigma in their communities. Sexual and reproductive health and rights include the right to be diagnosed in time and to be treated with dignity.
We invite our 1,143 member organisations and all our partners to join us this October: share the pink ribbon, organise awareness sessions and keep the conversation going beyond the month.
Source: International Agency for Research on Cancer, Breast cancer overall survival in sub-Saharan Africa (ABC-DO), September 2025. Media enquiries: communications.info@rflgd.org.
