The WFH Twinning Program has two main streams focusing on hemophilia patient organizations and hemophilia treatment centres. Hemophilia Organization Twinning (HOT) continues to make significant strides in supporting patient organizations worldwide. With a focus on organizational capacity-building and advocacy, HOT aims to improve services to patients and their families and effectively support people living with bleeding disorders. In 2024, two exciting new partnerships were approved to join HOT:
- Safe Motherhood and Hemophilia Foundation (The Gambia) with Hemophilia of Georgia (U.S.A)
- Malta Bleeding Disorder Society with the Haemophilia Society (U.K.)
These twins have several key goals they have committed to achieving during the duration of their partnerships. They aim to develop effective governance structures, enhance advocacy skills and strategies, create sustainable financial policies, conduct impactful educational campaigns, and develop educational resources and communication tools for the bleeding disorder community.
We are highly enthusiastic about the potential partnership between Campinas and Luanda. We have tremendous confidence that this collaboration will be successful and will yield valuable results.
—Silmara Aparecida de Lima Montalvão, Laboratory Supervisor, International Hemophilia Training Centre (IHTC) Campinas
Hemophilia Treatment Centre (HTC) Twinning supports medical professionals so they can provide adequate care and treatment for people living with bleeding disorders. This year, the Program celebrates the approval of four new partnerships:
- Instituto Hematológico Pediátrico Dra Victória Do Espírito Santo (Luanda, Angola) with International Hemophilia Training Centre (IHTC) Campinas, Hemocentro UNICAMP, University of Campinas (Campinas, Brazil)
- Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (Trinidad & Tobago) with the Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto, Canada)
- Georgetown Public Hospital (Georgetown, Guyana) Hematology Department with the Louisiana Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders, Tulane School of Medicine (Louisiana, U.S.A)
- Centre Hopitalier Universitaire de Djibouti with the Aziza Othmana Hospital, Hemophilia Centre (Tunis, Tunisia)
The goals of these new HTC Twinning partners include developing a multidisciplinary approach to the comprehensive management of bleeding disorders, advancing laboratory diagnosis, improving registries, increasing data collection, and providing therapeutic patient education.
Additionally, the youth component of the WFH Twinning Program plays a vital role in strengthening youth group membership and empowering young national member organization (NMO) members. The new 2024 Youth Twins—the Haemophilia Association of Mauritius and the Hemophilia Federation (India)—have as their goal developing a succession plan, strategically structuring their youth group, and fostering youth leadership and engagement.
The WFH looks forward to supporting these new partnerships and working together effectively to serve people living with bleeding disorders worldwide.
To find out more about the WFH Twinning Program, click here.
The WFH Twinning Program is supported by exclusive funding from Pfizer.