changing possibilities in haemophilia
- increasing access to treatment with the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation
Camilla knows how important access to the right treatment is. By treating her son, Enea, with effective treatment he is able to live an active life, without Camilla worrying every time he goes out to play with his friends.
“I am very lucky to be living in Switzerland,” says Camilla, “because here we have very good medical care and very professional doctors. In Switzerland there’s also a governmental health insurance that covers you until you are 20. Everything is covered, all the medication and therapies, like if you need physiotherapy. Home treatment is also possible here in Switzerland. I was taught how to do the injections at the hospital.”
One of the biggest areas of concern in haemophilia, however, lies in developing countries, where the condition goes largely undiagnosed and incorrectly treated.
“We have three major problems regarding haemophilia in Brazil,” says Dr Sylvia Thomas, president of the Federacau Brasileira de Hemofili. “Firstly, we cannot perform diagnosis in many of the centres. Another question is how people are treated – multidisciplinary teams do not exist everywhere in Brazil. The third issue, one of the principle problems in treating haemophilia, is access to medication.”
The Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation (NNHF) was set up in 2005 as a non-profit independent organisation committed to the development of awareness and treatment in developing countries. NNHF programs include awards, fellowships and projects for patient education, doctor, nurse and laboratory staff training, as well as setting up diagnostic facilities and patient registries. To date the NNHF has treatment centres in 20 countries, providing treatment and education in parts of the world where access to care is difficult.
Novo Nordisk actively supports continuing medical education and scientific sessions at major congresses such as the World Federation of Haemophilia (WFH) and the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH).
At Novo Nordisk we know the importance of finding out the impact of the unarticulated social, psychological and emotional issues that go hand in hand with any chronic disease, therefore we are proud to partner with physicians and the haemophilia community to help build a better tomorrow for people with haemophilia. Because of our leadership, extensive knowledge and commitment in the field we can directly increase awareness and access to treatment.
We continue to collaborate with governments and healthcare policy makers to track quality of life issues for people with haemophilia and inhibitors and setting standards for the level of treatment that this patient group is receiving worldwide. This enables us to access the data we need, not only to measure the successes, also to pinpoint areas of future development and ultimately change possibilities in haemophilia.
For more information please contact:
Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation
Andreasstrasse 15
CH-8050 Zurich
Switzerland
tel.: +41 43 222 4444
fax: +41 43 222 4400
e-mail: info@nnhf.org
homepage: www.nnhf.org
