The WFH Twinning Program supports short-term collaborative partnerships between medical professionals, patient organizations, and youth leaders from around the world to improve care for people living with bleeding disorders worldwide. The 2023 Twins of the Year Awards were announced at the WFH 2024 World Congress in Madrid, Spain, where partners received recognition plaques in tandem with the 2022 Twins of the Year. At this event, past, current and new twins were celebrated and the WFH expressed its gratitude for Pfizer’s long-standing support of the WFH Twinning Program. The Program has had a significant global impact, with 275 partnerships created across 119 countries.
Dawn Rotellini, chair of the HOT Twinning Committee, presents the 2022 and 2023 HOT Twins of the Year awards to the Serbia – Manitoba (Canada) and the Rwanda – France twins (L to R).
The Rwanda-France twins had a productive and collaborative year. The twins conducted awareness-raising and capacity-building training for 60 community health workers, 104 parents, 150 teachers and 2,000 students. They engaged in productive dialogue with several institutions—such as the Ministry of Health and the Rwanda Biomedical Centre—to raise awareness and advocated for improved treatment and care for people living with bleeding disorders. They also built the Rwanda NMO website.
Catherine Lambert, chair of the HTC Twinning Committee, presents the 2022 and 2023 HTC Twins of the Year awards to the Amman (Jordan) – Dublin (Ireland) and the Semarang (Indonesia) – Utrecht (Netherlands) twins, respectively (L to R).
In their third year, the Semarang – Utrecht twins maintained their momentum by enhancing awareness and knowledge among healthcare professionals on clinical management of bleeding disorders. They organized several activities to improve care for individuals living with bleeding disorders in Indonesia. These initiatives included developing a patient registry, creating personalized treatment plans, and establishing treatment protocols. Additionally, they conducted training sessions for physiotherapists and hosted two symposiums for medical and paramedical staff involved in hemophilia and other bleeding disorders care. Furthermore, the twins facilitated hydrotherapy sessions as part of their patient education programs.
On behalf of the WFH, congratulations to the 2023 Twins of the year!
For more information on the WFH Twinning Program, please click here.
The Twinning program is supported by exclusive funding from Pfizer.