The World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) encourages members of the community, partners, and national member organizations (NMOs) to engage with the community virtually on April 17 and let your voice be heard! You can do this by posting your personal stories on our website, or on social media. Below you’ll find World Hemophilia Day resources you can use to get involved on April 17.
Please note that stories and posts shouldn’t contain references to (or show any images of) treatment product brand names.
About World Hemophilia Day
Since 1989, patient groups worldwide have annually marked World Hemophilia Day on April 17 to raise the awareness and understanding of hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. The date was chosen in honour of WFH founder Frank Schnabel, who was born on that day.
World Hemophilia Day aims to:
- Promote the importance of taking coordinated and concerted actions to achieve the WFH vision of “Treatment for all”
- Draw attention to the key issues and put hemophilia and bleeding disorders in the spotlight
2023 theme and key messages
April 17, 2023 is World Hemophilia Day. The theme of the event this year is “Access for All: Prevention of bleeds as the global standard of care”. Building on last year’s theme, the call to action for the community in 2023 is to come together and advocate with local policy makers and governments for improved access to treatment and care with an emphasis on better control and prevention of bleeds for all people with bleeding disorders (PWBDs). This means the implementation of home-based treatment as well as prophylactic treatment to help those individuals have a better quality of life.
Every year, the WFH offers the bleeding disorders community a unique and intimate story site where people everywhere can come together and celebrate the day. Patients and caregivers can use this platform to share their personal stories and pictures. The specific call to action for this platform is to encourage people to share their World Hemophilia Day-related stories and activities. Going live on April 1 at www.worldhemophiliaday.org!
The WFH advocacy toolkit
There are many ways you can bring attention to hemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders in your local and global community to raise awareness of the need for inclusion in national policy. This article covers many of them, but you can also get more information using the World Hemophilia Day Advocacy Toolkit. This handy guide will show you how to use best use social media, how to organize an event, how to act locally—and more! Download it here (click on “Advocacy Toolkit”).
Use the following hashtags on social media to join the conversation
#WorldHemophiliaDay
#WHD2023
#LightItUpRed
Change your profile picture and Light It Up Red
- Download our World Hemophilia Day Facebook banner or Facebook frame here (click on “Social media tools”) and light yourself up red!
- Wear something red at home and share a selfie on social media
- Challenge your coworkers or schoolmates to post a picture of themselves wearing red for the day—or post a picture collage of everyone in your organization wearing red!
- Post pictures of landmarks you see lit up on red on social media
Spread the word
- Share this year’s World Hemophilia Day website: www.worldhemophiliaday.org (going live on April 1)
- Like, share and retweet WFH Hemophilia Day-related posts on social media
- Share the World Hemophilia Day official poster (click on “Campaign Materials”)
- Share our World Hemophilia Day resources on your website or through social media
- Use our advocacy letter here (click on “Advocacy Toolkit”) to contact a local landmark and ask if they can Light it up Red
Examples of social media posts
Here are some social media posts you can use for your own campaigns:
- #WorldHemophiliaDay is April 17! Learn more about this historic day at wfh.org/WHD2023 and download your own #WHD2023 poster!
- #WorldHemophiliaDay is about celebrating the bleeding disorders community. Retweet/share if someone in your family is living with #hemophilia #WHD2023
- Next week is #WorldHemophiliaDay. Download the WFH social media frame here, and #LightItUpRed if you or a loved one is living with a bleeding disorder! Knowledge is only power if it is shared! #WorldHemophiliaDay #WHD2023
- Mark your calendars! April 17th is #WorldHemophiliaDay. How will you be celebrating? We will be…
- #WHD2023 is day for everyone to learn more about #bleedingdisorders. Join the movement at worldhemophiliaday.org and learn more about #hemophilia at the dedicated WFH eLearning centre: wfh.org/education-and-elearning
- This #WorldHemophiliaDay share YOUR story! Submit your story or video message to the #WHD2023 video series here:
- We are now just a few weeks away from #WorldHemophiliaDay! This year, #WHD2023 will rally our community around the theme “Access for All: Prevention of bleeds as the global standard of care”. We will focus on sharing our stories on how our community worked to engage our government. Share your story at wfh.org/world-hemophilia-day
- This #WorldHemophiliaDay share your story! Om Krishna Sakhakarmi is from Bhaktapur, Nepal. He has severe hemophilia A with inhibitors. Thanks to donated factor provided by the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program, he was able to undergo joint replacement surgery—the first in the country, despite the global pandemic. Read more about his story here: wfh.org/the-wfh-humanitarian-aid-program-supports-nmo-in-nepal/
- How are you helping to engage our government? Share your story this #WHD2023. For over the last five years, the Haemophilia Foundation of Nigeria (HFN), in collaboration with the WFH, has engaged the federal government of Nigeria through the Ministry of Health to advocate for the adequate care of PWBDs in the country: wfh.org/nigeria-includes-bleeding-disorders-in-national-policy-and-strategic-plan/
- It’s here! Today is #WorldHemophiliaDay: a day dedicated to celebrating our community around the world! We’ve shared our story with the community, and you can too at wfh.org/whd
One way to help make a difference this World Hemophilia Day is to contact government officials and policymakers with a letter. A small personal note from someone from the community can often be the first step on a journey that can lead to major change. The WFH has a template letter that you can adapt to your needs. The letter covers all everything you need to know, including:
- Opening the letter with an official address
- Explaining the purpose of your letter
- Explaining your concern related to inherited bleeding disorders
- Using personal or relevant stories and examples
- Acknowledging any past support
- Describing what action you hope the official will take
- Proposing how you or your organization can help
You can download the letter template here (click on “Advocacy Toolkit”).
Download everything you need to populate your feed with World Hemophilia Day content and stories! The following shareable images and content are available here in English, French and Spanish:
- Poster
- One-pager
- Logos
- Social media images
- Advocacy toolkit
- Banners
- Light It Up Red letter
- Letter to a government official template
Let us know what you are planning!
We want to support you and help you amplify your efforts! Let us know about what you’ve done—or what you’re planning on doing—on April 17. Stories, pictures, or social media posts are all welcome. Please note that stories and posts shouldn’t contain references to (or show any images of) treatment product brand names. Feel free to share your events with the WFH Marketing & Communications department at [email protected].
The WFH would like to thank our 2023 World Hemophilia Day sponsors for their continued support: Bayer, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., Biotest, CSL Behring, F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd., Freeline Therapeutics, GC Pharma, Grifols, Kedrion, LFB S.A, Novo Nordisk, Octapharma, Pfizer, Sanofi, Sobi, Spark Therapeutics, and Takeda.