On International Nurses Day, 12 May, the town square in Kumanovo hosted an action offering free blood pressure measurement and free mammogram appointment booking. In just two hours, over 100 women signed up for screening.

The action was organised by the Association of Nurses, Technicians and Midwives together with the Kumanovo Health Centre. Women aged 40 to 69 who had not had a mammogram in the last two years had the chance to book a free appointment. After signing up, they will receive an SMS with the exact appointment time at Kumanovo General Hospital.

„The action met with great response, to our great satisfaction", said Ljiljana Ivanovska, a registered nurse from the Health Centre. Brochures on breast self-examination were also handed out - the kind of preventive advice that, unlike expensive marketing campaigns, actually pays off.

The free blood pressure check covered over 200 citizens. One action, two hours, three hundred reactions of awareness. It's an example of how small local initiatives sometimes do more good than national press conferences on healthcare.

For an adult woman in Macedonia, a mammogram is a procedure that costs 1,500-2,500 denars at full price. For many women on pensions or minimum wage, that's not a priority. So when a „free" mammogram action shows up - 100 sign-ups in two hours isn't surprising. It's a reaction to pent-up need.

Kumanovo showed this time how it's done. The question is - why aren't such actions regular, with state backing, and covering every municipality? Prevention costs a hundred times less than treatment. But that's a bill nobody in the Health Ministry has yet wanted to accept.