Grounds for Health

Grounds for Health is a woman’s health NGO that delivers much-needed services to women in developing countries. We specialize in reaching women working at the base of global value chains such as coffee, cocoa, tea, cut flowers and others. Our mission is to reduce cervical cancer among women in developing countries. We are a focused, international organization with a small head office in Vermont and operational field staff in Nicaragua, Peru and Ethiopia. To-date our programs have resulted in more than 53,000 women screened; more than 3,200 women treated; and training for more than 400 community health workers. Why cervical cancer? Most health conditions in the developing world have been improving: since 1990, child and maternal mortality rates have fallen by almost half. But cervical cancer is one of the exceptions. In the next 15 years, six million women will die from cervical cancer, despite the fact that it can be easily prevented. Nearly 90% of these deaths will occur in low- and middle-income countries, where few of the more than one billion women aged 35-49 benefit from the screening and preventive therapy services that have minimized risks in the United States and Europe. How we work Grounds for Health works in partnership with health authorities and agriculture cooperatives in developing countries to train local doctors, nurses and community health promoters, and to coordinate screening and treatment services in communities most affected by cervical cancer. Our programs currently provide cervical cancer prevention services to women living in coffee-growing communities in Ethiopia, Nicaragua, and Peru. We are actively exploring opportunities to expand our impact to other developing countries. Grounds for Health is registered in the United States as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.