Last October, the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) Annual Meeting of the General Assembly saw a number of organizations join the federation as associate national member organizations (associate NMOs). One of those organizations was the Association des Parents et Amis d’Enfants Hémophiles (APAH) from Djibouti. There are now 147 national member organizations around the world that are part of the WFH.
Yasser Iskandar is the father of a child with hemophilia and the founder of APAH. Iskandar has had difficulties looking after his child because hemophilia and other bleeding disorders in Djibouti are hardly known, and factor accessibility is practically non-existent. The challenges Iskandar faced raising a child with a bleeding disorder in Djibouti motivated him to establish APAH in 2017.
Iskandar was first introduced to the WFH through the Association française des hémophiles (AFH) during a meeting to discuss the quality of life of people living with bleeding disorders in Djibouti. Currently, APAH has close to 50 members. Its board of directors is comprised of people with bleeding disorders (PWBDs), their family members, and healthcare professionals, including Fozia Osman, MD, Vice-President of APAH, who accompanied Iskandar and other members and is committed to helping them improve care.
Iskandar mentions that it is difficult to live with a bleeding disorder in Djibouti. PWBDs who can afford to leave Djibouti and move to other countries do so to find better treatment. But the majority do not have the means to do so, and that’s why APAH wants to help and give the bleeding disorder community in Djibouti the opportunity to access adequate care in their own country. The key priorities of APAH include improving access to treatment, and establishing a strong hemophilia treatment centre in Djibouti, the country’s capital. By partnering with the WFH, APAH wants to join the global bleeding disorders community as an active member.
The WFH looks forward to working with the APAH team to help improve the quality of life of people with bleeding disorders in Djibouti.
On behalf of the global bleeding disorders community, welcome, Association des Parents et Amis d’Enfants Hémophiles, to the WFH global family!