 The world hemophilia community has rallied in recent months to help victims of northern Pakistan’s earthquake in October and the hurricanes in southern U.S.A. a few weeks earlier.
International aid donors estimate Pakistan's death toll has reached at least 86,000, with more than 100,000 people injured. About three million people have been left homeless and some 50,000 children have been orphaned or separated from their families.
Despite communication difficulties, the WFH has received reports from its Pakistan members about the disaster’s effects on people with hemophilia. Patients from the northern regions were admitted to hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi with serious injuries. Some people suffered broken bones when buildings collapsed on them. One man injured his head in a fall while running away from danger.
“We are providing factor coverage to all of them,” said Saif-Ul- Islam, president of Pakistan’s national hemophilia association, shortly after the earthquake. “Our global friends are helping us and we will not leave any stone unturned until our patients are safe.”
The WFH responded quickly by sending 120,000 IU of donated factor concentrates to the association for distribution to patients.
 But with fears the casualty and injury rate could keep rising, the WFH has appealed for more product donations to be sent to Pakistan. (For further details contact Assad Haffar, WFH Humanitarian Aid Coordinator: ahaffar@wfh.org )
The USA’s National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) also responded quickly to help people with bleeding disorders who lost access to treatment because of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.
Following the devastation of New Orleans, which left hundreds dead, NHF acted as a communication centre connecting people to necessary services. The organization was instrumental in ensuring that over 300,000 units of donated factor products made their way to help patients in the Gulf States.
 Regional medical centres, NHF chapters, and private members opened their doors to displaced patients and helped them with treatment, prescriptions, food transportation, and housing.
.“We wanted to do what we could to help, so that individuals directly and indirectly affected by these hurricanes would continue to have access to care," says NHF Chief Executive Officer, Alan Kinniburgh.
NHF member, Dr. Keith Hoots and his colleague, Dr. Deborah Brown were among the volunteers who treated many of the thousands of evacuees sheltering in the Houston Astrodome
The NHF national office also set up the Hurricane Katrina Relief Program to raise funds for affected hemophilia patients. (Further details: www.hemophilia.org )
Similar emergency operations and fundraising have been conducted by another US non-profit organization, the Hemophilia Federation of America (HFA).
The Federation has organized hematologists to provide patients with alternative services and has worked to ensure adequate supplies of treatment products for Louisiana hospitals. When the Tulane treatment centre in New Orleans was flooded, HFA offered staff some of its office space in another city. (Further details: www.hemophiliafed.org)
Last Updated: December 2005 |
