2025 Blue Hat Bow Tie Weekend

In partnership with the Blue Hat Foundation, Blue Hat Bow Tie Weekend is GCCA’s Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month initiative. To spread awareness and promote colorectal cancer screening, GCCA supports organizations and individuals to hold events in their communities and provides free event planning and promotional resources as well as medically accurate, patient-friendly educational materials. In 2025, GCCA and its member organizations and individuals held events in 14 countries for Blue Hat Bow Tie Weekend. These wonderful advocates spread awareness about colorectal cancer and shared information about screening and prevention in communities around the world. It is truly inspiring to see how this initiative has continued to expand, reaching new communities, including those with limited or no prior access to colorectal cancer awareness resources. And there are more events to come! Blue Hat Bow Tie for CRC Awareness events can happen any time, and several of our member organizations have plans in the coming months. Keep an eye on the blog for updates on those events!

Bhutan Cancer Society, through their initiative Increased Access to Knowledge and Awareness on Colorectal Cancer – Empowering Monks, engaged and educated nearly 1000 monks at 13 different monastic institutions across 7 districts of Bhutan, sharing essential knowledge on colorectal cancer risk factors, signs and symptoms, and preventive measures. In addition to increasing awareness and screening among the monks themselves, Bhutan Cancer Society capitalizes on the vital role monks play as community influencers and promoters of health and well-being in the larger community.

In Nigeria, the David Omenukor Foundation successfully organized a free colorectal cancer screening event at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in the Ahiazu Mbaise area of Imo State. They aligned the program with Mother’s Day celebrations at the church to maximize their reach and impact. There was a CRC awareness session led by Dr. Tobechi Nwachukwu, who educated attendees on colorectal cancer risk factors, signs and symptoms, and the importance of screening, prevention, and early detection. The foundation distributed 180 CRC stool screening tests, leading to 14 patients with positive stool screenings. These patients were counseled and enrolled in follow-up care.

In Ghana, Empowerment for Sustainable Livelihood partnered with dedicated health professionals to educate 250 community members on the importance of early detection and prevention of colon cancer through their Colon Cancer Awareness and Blood Screening Campaign. The campaign emphasized the significance of recognizing early warning signs of colorectal cancer, and offered and performed blood testing to identify anemia, which is often linked to CRC. The event led to follow-up referrals for several participants.

The Institute for Gastroenterological Tumors (IGET) in Croatia participated in Blue Hat Bow Tie Weekend by promoting physical activity for colorectal cancer risk reduction. They encouraged their audience to exercise together with the motto “We are moving in good company.” Being active together decreases the risk of colorectal cancer as well as many other diseases and builds community and awareness for the benefits of physical activity.

Mbakuran Vaakaa Cancer (MVC) Foundation held an event at the Internally Displaced Person (IDP) Camp in Benue State, Nigeria. Their activities included free colorectal cancer screening, a Q & A session to combat colorectal cancer myths, and a dramatic presentation to emphasize the role of healthy lifestyle in colorectal cancer risk reduction.

Nest of Hope Advocacy and Support Community in Nigeria held a colorectal cancer awareness and health screening event in Abuja. Their event and important colorectal cancer information were featured in a report on African Independent Television.

In Nigeria, Niola Cancer Care Foundation held an awareness event at IJOYA, their annual health fair focused on healthy lifestyles and screening. They focused on the farmers who came to exhibit their produce and the public visitors at the Akarigbo Palace. Educational presentations and interactive sessions on colorectal cancer screening, prevention, and early detection were moderated by Eniola Akintunde and Temitope Salako and attended by more than 300 people.

Onco Intelligence took an innovative approach, partnering with Bajaj motorcycle drivers to widely distribute flyers and colorectal cancer awareness materials to their passengers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. At a central event at Mbezi Mwisho Old, local health workers and volunteers helped by talking to the public, answering questions, combatting colorectal cancer myths, and offering advice about colorectal cancer screening. More than 900 people were reached with information about colorectal cancer and cancer screening.

SAID NGO in Lebanon held a colorectal cancer awareness event for Blue Hat Bow Tie Weekend that included a large inflatable colon! Their model is great for demonstrating how preventable colorectal cancer is when timely screening is used to detect precancerous polyps.

Women’s Coalition Against Cancer led a colorectal cancer awareness event at Kabudula Community Hospital in Malawi. Key speakers, including Dr. Deborah Katete (Kabudula community Hospital In-Charge), Mr. Lemson Phiri (Ministry of Health Nurse), and Esther Nyirenda (WOCACA Project Officer), emphasized the importance of early screening, recognizing symptoms and encouraging lifestyle changes to reduce risk factors. There was an educational session for Health Surveillance Assistants to equip them with knowledge and skills to promote early detection and timely referral for concerning symptoms. The event, along with important colorectal cancer information, was shared in the Nyasa Times.

On behalf of GCCA, our Regional Director for Southern Africa, Tumi Ramasodi organized two Blue Hat Bow Tie Weekend events in South Africa. Tumi gave a colorectal cancer presentation at the Moroka Methodist Church of Southern Africa and held an event in partnership with South Africa’s National Cancer Registry at Busamed Private Hospital.

Thank you to all who have participated so far, we look forward to sharing more events!