Blandina Khondowe

Blandina Khondowe (12 October 1980 – 21 November 2020), born Blandina Mlenga, was best known for her role as Miss Malawi 2002 and for her breast cancer advocacy. She is the founder of Think Pink – Malawi campaign for breast cancer awareness and the founder of Hope for Cancer Foundation. She was an advocate for breast cancer awareness and spoke about the lack of facilities and access to equitable management.[1][2][3][4][5] She, until her death on November 21, 2020, worked as a civil servant for Malawi's Ministry of Tourism.

Blandina Khondowe
Born
Blandina Mlenga

12 October 1980 (1980-10-12)
Malawi
Died21 November, 2020 (2021-11-21UTC20:21) (aged 41)
OccupationActivist, civil servant
TitleMiss Malawi
Spouse(s)Christopher Khondowe
Children2

Background

Khondowe attended the University of Malawi and had a bachelor's degree in business marketing from Charles Sturt University and an MBA from a University of Wales Institute.[6] She worked as the Principle Tourism Officer for the Ministry of Tourism. She worked in this ministry from 2008-2020 and she continued to judge for the Miss Malawi pageant.[6][7]

Her own diagnoses of breast cancer in 2013 and 2017 led her to become a vocal advocate for breast cancer awareness in Malawi. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, she began partnering with local companies and local NGOs to create awareness for breast cancer in the country. She founded the annual national Think Pink Walk with Magdelena Zgamvo in 2014 which promotes early detection of breast cancer.[8] She founded the Hope for Cancer Foundation in 2015. The goal of this organization was to promote preventative approaches to cancer care.[9][10][5][11][7]

She died from cancer on 20 November 2020. She is survived by two children and her husband, Christopher Khondowe.[5]

Publications
  • "Breast Cancer Screening in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Perspective From Malawi", Journal of Global Oncology, Lily A. Gutnik, Beatrice Matanje-Mwagomba, Vanessa Msosa, Suzgo Mzumara, Blandina Khondowe, Agnes Moses, Racquel E. Kohler, Lisa A. Carey[12]
  • "Think Pink Malawi: Mobilizing Communities and Stakeholders for Breast Cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa" (2018), Lily Gutnik, Beatrice Matanje Mwagomba, Ella Bwanasi, Eleanor Nkosi, Tara Thindwa, Malumbo Chirwa, Victoria Mopiwa, Satish Gopal, and Blandina KhondoweAnnals of Public Health Research, 5(2): 1075 [13]

Awards

See also

Miss Malawi

References
  1. "Ex-beauty queen in breast cancer campaign: Think Pink Malawi - Malawi Nyasa Times - Malawi breaking news in Malawi". nyasatimes.com. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  2. "freshcancernews.com". www.freshcancernews.com. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  3. "Think pink 2016 cancer awareness campaign successful—Blandina Khondowe - The Maravi Post". maravipost.com. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  4. "Southern African celebrities and their breast cancer stories". www.jennyedge.co.za. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  5. "Ex Malawi beauty queen Blandina Kondowe dies: Tributes pour in". www.nyasatimes.com.
  6. "Blandina Khondowe - The Nation Online". mwnation.com. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  7. "Cancer Advocate Blandina Khondowe Dies | The Nation Online | Malawi Daily Newspaper".
  8. Kapindu, Harold (2 November 2015). "Malawi: Thinking Breast Cancer Awareness in Pink". Retrieved 8 August 2017 – via AllAfrica.
  9. She also wrote a column about cancer for the national newspaper, Malawi News.Nyondo, Pius (26 June 2016). "Malawi: Miss Malawi 2016 Auditions Starts in Mzuzu With Glitz - Mijiga, Chihana, Khondowe Form Judging Panel". Retrieved 8 August 2017 – via AllAfrica.
  10. "Think Pink Malawi: Early cancer detection saves lives – Khondowe - Malawi Nyasa Times - Malawi breaking news in Malawi". nyasatimes.com. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  11. "Blandina Khondowe forms Hope for Cancer NGO". www.nyasatimes.com.
  12. Gutnik, Lily A.; Matanje-Mwagomba, Beatrice; Msosa, Vanessa; Mzumara, Suzgo; Khondowe, Blandina; Moses, Agnes; Kohler, Racquel E.; Carey, Lisa A.; Lee, Clara N.; Gopal, Satish (1 February 2016). "Breast Cancer Screening in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Perspective From Malawi". Journal of Global Oncology. 2 (1): 4–8. doi:10.1200/JGO.2015.000430. PMC 5497737. Retrieved 8 August 2017 – via ascopubs.org (Atypon).
  13. https://www.jscimedcentral.com/PublicHealth/vol5issue2.php
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Elizabeth Pullu		 Miss Malawi
2002		 Succeeded by
Mable Pullu
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