The community mobilizers of the Honorary Commission to Fight Cancer (CHLCC) denounce the “dismantling” of the Population Education area of the institution in the interior of the country, due to the decision of the directive to cease their work activities to the 15 civil servants from the interior of the country and one from Montevideo as of March 31 due to “budget reduction,” according to a statement released by the mobilizers at the end of November.
The officials were notified of their dismissal through a call on November 12 and then by telegram, she told the daily Adriana Sierra, community mobilizer from Colonia. In the first place, the board of directors had set the cessation date for December 31, but days later they were informed that it would take place on March 31. “The reasons they adduce are economic. Reduction of expenses for the institution due to financial problems that the institution ‘apparently’ drags. I say ‘apparently’ because we don’t have access to figures to corroborate it, we deal with opinions, ”Sierra said. At no time was there a meeting between the officials and the CHLCC board, “not even via Zoom to bring the entire group together,” and they did not give any further arguments, he said.
The area of Population Education has the objective of promoting and promoting education programs for the prevention of cancer through the “promotion of healthy habits in order to achieve an early diagnosis and prevention of this disease,” says the statement. This task has been promoted in the interior of the country for 27 years by community mobilizers ‒one for each department‒, who work with organizations and institutions in each community, both in “the largest cities” and in small towns, Sierra said. . He clarified that in Rocha, Río Negro and Cerro Largo there were no longer community mobilizers because the vacancies due to retirements or resignations had not been filled.
When firing the 15 mobilizers from the interior and one from Montevideo, Sierra stated that in this area only four people will be working in the capital and that “although in some instances they do a similar job,” they do not work with assiduity and the continuity that they maintain with the population. The distribution of Population Education “will be dismantled in the interior,” said the official.
What is lost
“The community mobilizers have specialized training in cancer prevention education, as well as extensive experience and training in health promotion in the territory,” the statement said. His approach is to transmit to the population “what is the information that will keep it healthier” to avoid diseases caused by poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. “We receive information that is complex and we translate it in a simple way so that the population can appropriate it,” said Sierra, and mentioned that educational centers ask them to attend to transmit information to students.
Through these practices, processes of change are generated, Sierra said. As an example, he mentioned that in the prevention of breast cancer, after several years of transmitting to women the importance of “knowing their body, making timely consultations and getting involved”, they took ownership of the importance of “staying healthy, cared for and controlled ”, they“ lost their fear of mammograms ”and are now“ natural multipliers ”, because they transfer“ that information to the next generation in a natural way, because they have it incorporated ”. “It has changed even talking about cancer. Before people did not want to put words to it. Nowadays, after a long process, that can be done, and we believe that it is part of the actions that we have given from the Population Education Area, ”said Sierra.
Actions
The community mobilizers conveyed the decision of the CHLCC authorities to the population with whom they work and prepared a letter that they sent to deputies and senators, to the Minister of Public Health, Daniel Salinas, and to the Presidency of the Republic. On December 10, the deputies from the interior of the Broad Front sent a letter to the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Martín Lema, to express their “concern” about the situation; highlighted the “significant achievements in the task of prevention and early detection of different types of cancers” of the CHLCC officials, said that it is “a mistake” to justify these dismissals due to “the need to reduce the budget” and argued that it is a cut “Untimely and unnecessary.”
Consulted by the daily, Robinson Rodríguez, president of the CHLCC, responded that although the mobilizers were dismissed, they were told that they were going to “take steps” so that “they can continue to fulfill this important function within the Republic.” In order to “not hinder the ongoing negotiations,” Rodríguez excused himself from making further statements.
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