Fahim Ahmed—who had hemophilia but was never formally diagnosed—arrived at a hospital with persistent bleeding that had lasted for a month. His history included bleeding episodes when he was a child, but no efforts to diagnose him with a bleeding disorder had ever been done. Now, at nearly fifty years of age, he was finally tested, and he was found to have mild hemophilia B. With this information, and with his condition worsening, cardiologists determined that radial artery exploration and ligation surgery was urgently needed.
Referred to a local hemophilia treatment center (HTC), Ahmed received long-acting factor IX provided by the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program. Soon after, the surgery was performed, and during the process, he was found to have a radial artery aneurysm, which was successfully ligated. Additional factor IX provided to him in the following days allowed him to properly heal from the procedure. Now, Ahmed has a chance at a better future, thanks to the fact that his medical team knows that he has hemophilia and has access to donated factor.
Khizer Zafar, also from Pakistan, is a boy who has lived most of his life battling hemophilia A with inhibitors. Repeated bleeding episodes left him with chronic osteoarthritic damage in both knees and his left ankle, initially severely limiting his mobility—and eventually confining him to a wheelchair.
In January 2021, Khizer’s life took a turn when he began receiving prophylactic non-factor replacement therapy provided by the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program. Within months, Khizer progressed from wheelchair use to walking with aids. Just one year later, he was walking independently—and even participating in sports.
Khizer Zafar, from Pakistan, has lived most of his life battling hemophilia A with inhibitors.
In addition to the WFH support to Pakistan through the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program, the WFH also supported the country through other programs and initiatives like a Youth Group Twinning with New Zealand in 2025, developments grants and, since 2019, the WFH Path to Access to Care and Treatment (PACT) Program. Other efforts have included the preparation of a strategic plan for the Hemophilia Foundation of Pakistan in 2019 and a lab training workshop. The federation has also supported the country with the development of national treatment guidelines, and activities related the work of the national committee for women and girls with bleeding disorders (WGBDs) and the WFH Global VWD Call to Action.
Over 9.6 million IUs of factor were donated to Pakistan through the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program in 2024, along with 261 thousand mgs of non-factor replacement therapy. Since 2015, over 90 million IUs of factor, and nearly 1.6 million mgs of non-factor replacement therapy have been donated. To find out more about the WFH Humanitarian Program, please click here.
About the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program
The WFH Humanitarian Aid Program improves the lack of access to care and treatment by providing much-needed support for people with inherited bleeding disorders in developing countries. By providing patients with a more predictable and sustainable flow of humanitarian aid donations, the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program makes it possible for patients to receive consistent and reliable access to treatment and care. None of this would be possible without the generous support of Sanofi and Sobi, our Founding Visionary Contributors; Bayer, CSL Behring and Roche, our Visionary Contributors; Grifols, our Leadership Contributor; and Takeda, our Contributor. To learn more about the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program, visit www.treatmentforall.org.
