Announcing the NNHF Project of the Year Award 2023
Significant improvements in the quality of life for people with haemophilia have been achieved through education and awareness, thanks to a two-year project led by haematologist Dr Gabriela Sliba and Mrs Maria del Carmen Jodar, President of the patient organisation Fundación Hemofilia MDQ in Mar del Plata.
The project team collaborated closely with medical professionals in various locations across the province of Buenos Aires, further enhancing its impact.
Their vision: “School for everyone”.
What factors contributed to the Argentina 5, Mar del Plata project winning the NNHF Project of the Year Award 2023?
- Flawless project management and reporting
- Driven by a clear purpose, surpassing their goals
- High resilience and effective stakeholder engagement
The project’s direct impact includes:
- 70 people with haemophilia directly benefiting from the project activities.
- Promotion of awareness about haemophilia in over 50 schools through educational sessions, distribution of materials and provision of first-aid kits.
- More than 300 nurses trained in haemophilia management, surpassing the initial goal by 200%.
- Improved adherence to treatment and engagement in physical exercise reported by participants of one out of three educational sessions, attended by over 100 people with haemophilia and their family members.
The project’s results exceeded the expectations, driven by the team’s exceptional engagement with stakeholders, generating interest among nurses and schools that went far beyond the project’s original goals. The highly professional approach, along with the effective implementation of strategic media and social media engagement activities, contributed to the project’s success. For example, in addition to the schools within the initial geographical scope of the project in South Buenos Aires province, educational sessions sparked interest from schools in three additional (Chaco, Santiago del Estero and Neuquén). Overall, the team reached students and school personnel in more than 50 schools, conducting educational sessions and distributing educational materials and first-aid kits.
During one of the virtual training sessions organised by the project team, I learned a lot about haemophilia and how to handle a child with this condition if he gets hurt. This helped me overcome my fear of the unknown and be better able to explain about bleeding disorders to my peers and pupils. The benefit for children with haemophilia is greater integration into the group, with the ability to participate in all activities without fear of something happening.
The professional educational material designed for nurses, providing guidance on the management of haemophilia within a school environment, not only proved beneficial for local training but also served as an inspiration for other NNHF projects in Argentina, Bolivia and Nicaragua.
Congratulations to Dr Gabriela Sliba and Ms Maria del Carmen Jodar and everyone on the team who made this project a success!
Learn more about how we recognise the remarkable each year with the NNHF awards.
The context
The province of Buenos Aires, with its geographical area roughly equivalent to that of Uruguay, faced diverse disparities in terms of haemophilia awareness, education, and care, particularly in regions beyond the capital city.
Before the start of the fifth project supported by NNHF in 2020, schoolteachers feared having children with haemophilia in their classes. This apprehension led to instances of non-attendance or challenges in social integration. On the medical side, nurses had limited knowledge of bleeding disorders, forcing people with haemophilia who did not know how to self-infuse to travel to the reference centre in Mar del Plata. Additionally, in the southern region of the Buenos Aires province, a paper-based registry system was used for patient follow-up, resulting in challenges to maintain up-to-date information.
