we are following the lead of the world health organization to eliminate cervical cancer worldwide.
WHERE WE BEGAN
Our work begins with coffee. We were co-founded 26 years ago by Dan Cox of Coffee Enterprises and Dr. Francis Fote, after visiting a coffee farm in Huatusco, Mexico. It was there they witnessed an astounding number of women dying from cervical cancer and committed themselves to creating an organization that provides women at origin with access to life-saving healthcare. Grounds for Health has evolved over the past two decades as we increase our impact through expansion and innovation in providing screening and treatment for cervical pre-cancer in low-resource communities. We want to ensure that the many women who have not been vaccinated for HPV will not die from this preventable disease. We help save women's lives in some of the most underserved areas in the world.
our evolution 1996-2025
We have come a long way SINCE 1996. AS ONE OF THE LEADING CERVICAL CANCER PREVENTION ORGANIZATIONS. WE'RE EXCITED TO SHARE OUR GROWTH JOURNEY WITH YOU...
2001: VOLUNTEERS
GfH was predominantly a volunteer organization in its early years. Clinicians and lab technicians gave their time and financial resources to travel to coffee growing communities to provide services to local women.
2006: VIA
Pap tests were replaced by a simple, effective and less expensive screening method called VIA. VIA involves applying vinegar to the cervix and looking for the white patches (pre-cancer) that could progress to cervical cancer. Clinicians working within the national public health system were trained to provide cervical cancer prevention services.
2011: CRYOTHERAPY
Having the ability to treat pre-cancerous lesions in rural settings without access to electricity became a real game changer. Cryotherapy, a treatment method that freezes the pre-cancerous cells, was introduced to the program, ensuring that a woman could receive treatment on the same day she was screened.
2016: IN-COUNTRY STAFF
Over the years, Grounds for Health has transitioned from being a predominantly US-based organization, to one with the majority of our staff in-country and from the communities where they work. We build capacity among local clinicians and community health promotors and our GfH staff gain professional expertise in training, supervision, program development and the clinical skills necessary to become experts in their field.
2022: NEW TECHNOLOGIES
We are committed to the World health organization's call-to-action for the elimination of cervical cancer worldwide by 2030. per their guidelines, we began introducing HPV self-testing which provides improved screening accuracy and efficiency. We continue to transition to the use of thermal ablation as a more acceptable and efficient treatment method —and began sharing our expertise with other organizations in our global technical assistance programs (tap).
the future:
We strive to continue our exponential growth in impact with a goal of reaching 300,000 women by 2025.
We will expand our use of new technologies while continuing to evaluate and adapt our service delivery model to achieve even greater efficiencies.
We will increase our geographic footprint through a return to Latin America and through our Technical Assistance Program (TAP). Through TAP we are able to provide training and support in program implementation to other cervical cancer prevention programs around the world.
We can't do this without your support.
WAYS TO SUPPORT our work
- Become a donor: Give annually to Grounds for Health through corporate or personal giving & consider becoming a sustaining donor
- Women Choosing Women: For women in coffee, we invite you to donate $1,000 to Grounds for Health and join our 31 founding members in their commitment to women at origin
- Cause-marketing: Introduce your customers to our work and give percentage of sales, co-label a coffee bag with us, or collaborate on a social media fundraising campaign
- Coffee auction: Donate green coffee or bid in our annual coffee auction
- Host an event: Introduce your community to Grounds for Health by hosting a public event
- Press: Share our story & impact through various media channels and publications