Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation
One planet, different worlds
Vast differences exist in the perception of haemophilia, depending on where you live. While people with haemophilia in the developed world receive care and treatment, are socially assimilated, can work and have near-normal life expectancy, people in the developing world suffer undiagnosed or are treated inadequately. This represents an estimated 75% of the world’s haemophilia population.
“If we could reach a point where we have a population of patients who are well informed and aware of their health problem, a community of professionals who know how to treat them and access to diagnostic resources, we would feel we have achieved a lot for haemophilia care in Brazil. We hope, with the support of the NNHF, we will be able to reach this goal.” (Dr. Sylvia Thomas, physician and former president of the Federacao Brasileira de Hemofilia)
To address these challenges, the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation (NNHF) was created in 2005, in Zürich, Switzerland, as an independent non-profit organisation. By partnering with local haemophilia community members it aims to provide better access to care and treatment in the developing world through dedicated development programmes.
To date, the NNHF portfolio consists of 27 projects and 5 fellowships in 24 countries – some of them already finalized.
Based on three key focus areas, the NNHF development programmes include awards, fellowships, patient education projects, doctor, nurse, and laboratory staff training, as well as setting up diagnostic facilities, performing screening programmes and establishing patient registries.
The NNHF programmes are managed by motivated local partners, coming from all parts of the haemophilia community. They include healthcare professionals, patient organisations and health ministries, playing a particularly important role due to their endorsement and continued support.
Today, the achieved milestones and ongoing activities build the fundament of a global network enabling better practise sharing within the worldwide haemophilia community and joining forces for more challenges ahead, to moving haemophilia higher on the global agenda and ensure that people with haemophilia in the developing world have better access to care and treatment.
For more information about the Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation, please visit www.nnhf.org
