Hemophilia: health experts advocate appropriate diagnosis and treatment in Africa

Ahead of World Hemophilia Day (WHD) 2023, health experts from the African region are advocating for proper diagnosis and management of the disease in the region.

Speaking at a virtual media roundtable on Thursday, a professor of hematology and blood transfusion at the University of Lagos, Sulaimon Akanmu, said the recorded cases of hemophilia in the region are quite low because people are barely diagnosed with it.

Mr. Sulaimon said the region, which has more than a billion people, accounts for just 3% of hemophilia cases worldwide. He said countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria contribute the bulk of the recorded 3%.

Akanmu Sulaimon, Professor of Hematology and Blood Transfusion at the University of Lagos

He noted that he is generally assumed that there are more cases of hemophilia in the developed world than in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). He insisted, however, that such a perception is not true.

“The difference between developed countries and LMIC is high diagnosis. Developed countries have diagnosed more people living with the disease, thus recording higher cases than their counterparts,” he said.< /p>

Mr. Sulaimon said that although it is estimated that around 20,000 people are expected to have hemophilia, the country has only 1,000 cases.

He said the majority of cases, according to the Nigeria Hemophilia Federation register, are either in Kaduna or Lagos State “because they are diagnosing more people.”< /p>

"Nigeria is only diagnosing about 5% of people expected to be diagnosed and receive care," he said.

"This tells us that we are still not diagnosing the disease that is killing our children in various communities."

The media roundtable was organized by Pfizer, an American pharmaceutical company, as part of efforts to ensure that patients with hemophilia are seen, heard and never forgotten, as it continues to working tirelessly to find breakthrough solutions and therapeutic options to change lives.

What is hemophilia?

Hemophilia is a rare genetic bleeding disorder that causes blood to take a long time to clot due to a deficiency in one of several blood clotting factors. This condition is found almost exclusively in men.

People with hemophilia are at risk for excessive and recurrent bleeding from minor injuries, which can potentially be life-threatening.

Mr. Sulaimon said people with severe hemophilia often bleed spontaneously into their muscles or joints, or rarely into other critical closed spaces such as the intracranial space, where bleeding can be fatal.

The two main types of hemophilia are A and B, with a third, rarer form called hemophilia C.

Although there is no known cure for this condition, treatment can help manage the condition.