Ethiopia 1 project

Improve haemophilia care in Ethiopia by decentralisation of care and empowerment of haemophilia community

Partner institution
Ethiopian Hemophilia Society

Represented by
Mr Samson Hailemariam, Chief Executive Officer

Duration
5 years, Q1 2018 – Q2 2023

Status
Closing

Objectives

• Improve access to care by establishment of two regional haemophilia treatment centres
• Improve haemophilia care by updating and disseminating the treatment      guidelines training of healthcare professionals
• Increase people with haemophilia quality of life by improving their self-care skills
• Raise awareness in the community about haemophilia

Achievements

• 411 people with haemophilia have benefitted from this project.
• Strengthening of diagnostic capacities at Black Lion Hospital through the procurement of a fully automated coagulation analyser followed by a 5-day coagulation training by Rachel Korir, lab expert from Eldoret, Kenya. People with haemophilia now will no longer have to travel abroad to receive accurate diagnosis.
• In total 31 physiotherapists, 27 nurses and 12 physicians have been trained through the support of the Minnesota Children’s Hospital. Through this training healthcare professionals are more aware and confident in identifying symptoms and providing basic care.
• Haemophilia treatment guidelines, physiotherapy and circumcision protocol were developed and distributed to 7 referral hospitals during the medical trainings.
• The patient organisation has been strengthened through the establishment of a 2nd chapter in Gonder, expanding the haemophilia community network to the north of the country, about 700km from Addis Ababa.
• EHS participated in the famous Great Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa to raise awareness about haemophilia. In addition, EHS raised awareness during World Haemophilia Day 2019-2022 through educational workshops to the public. Each year there were around 100 participants including representatives from the Ministry of Health and the National Blood Bank.
• 5 workshops have been organised for people with haemophilia, youth and mother groups on advocacy, awareness, strategic planning and basics about haemophilia and self-care, with a total of 100 participants. Partners have reported that the number of people with haemophilia visiting Black Lion Hospital for regular consultation has gradually decreased thanks to the increased awareness on proper disease management.