FIELD NOTES: The Space Between Care and Dignity

A personal reflection from Debkonya Ghosh, Associate Programs

To be completely honest, I went into my first field visit with a bit of naivety. I was supposed to shadow an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) training session at a local Primary Health Centre (PHC) to understand the mechanics of our programs.

But public health fieldwork rarely cares about your perfect schedule.

When I arrived, the training was abruptly canceled. Instead of throwing our hands up, our team pivoted instantly. With the Medical Officer’s green light, we hit the ground to mobilize local women for immediate cervical cancer screenings. Watching that quick transition was my very first lesson: out here, you don’t follow a rigid plan; you respond to what the community needs right that second.

Because we were shorthanded, I volunteered to assist the gynecologist during the VIA (Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid) screenings. I thought I’d be focusing on the clinical technicalities. Instead, I was hit with the raw, uncomfortable realities of public health infrastructure.

The PHC was overwhelmingly crowded. The tiny room assigned to us had been partitioned down the middle to accommodate multiple services at once. There we were, asking women to undergo an incredibly intimate, vulnerable examination with virtually no privacy.

Standing in that cramped space, a question kept echoing in my head: We talk constantly about healthcare access, but how often do we talk about dignity?

It felt fundamentally unfair that for these women, protecting their health meant sacrificing their privacy.

What shook me even more was the outcome. Out of just a small handful of women we screened, five tested VIA-positive. Five. It made me look at them and wonder: How long have they been quietly carrying this burden?

It is a common story, but it’s a heavy one. Women so routinely put their families, their homes, and their work ahead of themselves that their own bodies become an afterthought.

I left the PHC that day with far more questions and frustrations than answers, and honestly, I think that was the real lesson. Public health isn’t about clean statistics, spreadsheets, or hitting corporate targets. It’s about the lived experiences of human beings. If we want to truly strengthen healthcare, we can’t just expand services—we have to ensure those services are delivered with empathy, respect, and deep compassion. Because dignity should never be a luxury.

Taking Our Mission Global: Join Us in Hong Kong and Athens

This year marks an important milestone for CAPED as our work receives recognition on two of the world’s leading global platforms dedicated to cancer prevention and HPV. The acceptance of our scientific submissions reflects the growing international recognition of our evidence-driven, community-centred approaches to cervical cancer prevention and HPV vaccine readiness in India.

We are delighted to share that CAPED will be participating in the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) World Cancer Congress 2026, to be held from 24–26 September 2026 in Hong Kong. Our team will present two accepted ePosters highlighting innovative approaches to cervical cancer prevention in India: “Decentralising HPV DNA Screening in Underserved Settings: A Hub & Spoke Model from Jharkhand, India” and “Improving HPV Vaccine Acceptance in India: A Multi-Sectoral Approach through Schools, Communities, and Partnerships.”

Further reinforcing this recognition, CAPED has also been selected to present at the 38th Annual Conference of the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS 2026), taking place from 22–25 October 2026 in Athens, Greece. Our scientific session, “Strengthening HPV Vaccine Readiness in India: Lessons from Integrated Awareness and Delivery Models,” has been accepted under the HPV Awareness Track. The session will showcase CAPED’s experience in advancing HPV vaccine readiness through integrated awareness, community engagement, school-based interventions, health system strengthening, and multi-sectoral partnerships—demonstrating how locally developed solutions can inform global efforts to eliminate HPV-related cancers.

Electronic Flash Talk Presentation: STRENGTHENING HPV VACCINE UPTAKE IN INDIA: COMMUNITY-BASED AWARENESS AND DELIVERY INSIGHTS IN THE CONTEXT OF NATIONAL ROLLOUT 

E-Poster: HUB & SPOKE HPV DNA SCREENING IN JHARKHAND: A CROSS-SECTOR MODEL FOR INTEGRATING CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING INTO PRIMARY HEALTH SYSTEMS 

Mridu Gupta will represent CAPED at both conferences, sharing our learnings with researchers, policymakers, programme implementers, and global partners, while fostering new collaborations to advance equitable cancer prevention.

These achievements are a testament not only to CAPED’s commitment to innovation and evidence generation, but also to the trust and support of our donors, partners, and readers who have stood with us throughout this journey. Your support has enabled us to design, implement, evaluate, and scale models that are now contributing to global scientific and policy discussions. As we continue to expand this work to reach more women and communities across India, your continued partnership will be critical in helping us transform recognition into lasting impact.

If you will be attending either conference, we would be delighted to connect. Whether you would like to discuss our work, explore opportunities for collaboration, or simply meet the team, we look forward to seeing you in Hong Kong and Athens.

If you or your organization are attending either event, please reach out. We would love to connect and explore global collaborations!

Thank you for reading

Thank you for being part of CAPED’s journey toward a future where no woman dies from preventable cancer. Every conversation, collaboration, and action brings us one step closer to creating healthier communities. We look forward to sharing more stories, milestones, and opportunities to make an impact together in our next edition.