Africa-Press – Lesotho. Haemophilia Association of (HAL) has written a petition to the of Lesotho to ensure the availability of injections and affordability of medication for Haemophilia disease.
The petition which was delivered to the Minister of Health Hon. Semano Sekatle last Friday urges the government to address the inherited bleeding disorders in the national policy.
Every year, April 17 is commemorated as the World Haemophilia Day. The celebration was however done later, seeing Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) band parading around town to the health headquarters with intention to spread the
word about this rare disorder. The theme for this the event was “Lets screen and Diagnose”. HAL chairperson Moeketsi Mootisa explained Haemophilia as a rare disorder in which the blood does not clot in the typical way because
it does not have enough blood-clotting proteins. He said if one have haemophilia, they might bleed for a longer time after an injury than they would if their
blood clotted properly. Again, Mootisa said this incurable inherited bleeding disorder only affects males while females are just carriers. Symptoms of haemophilia
include blood in urine and faeces or stool joint pain and swelling, excessive or easy bleeding, large and deep bruises, frequent nosebleeds, bleeding gums and irritability especially in children.
Mootisa, as a person living with severe Haemophilia, said he wishes that injections could be availed to patients in their respective homes because haemophilia
injections in Lesotho are only available in health facilities. He informed that with haemophilia, a simple bump on the head can cause bleeding into the brain for some people who have severe symptoms.
He said the cost of medication and treatment of haemophilia is very expensive, while again with that disorder, patients are expected to self-infuse or be
infused by relatives and caregivers at home to avoid excessive loss of blood. Only one injection of haemophilia factor costs approximately M3000.00, which is
the medication that promotes blood clotting. Mootisa urged the government to make screening, treatment accessibility, affordability and refill systems networks
to be available at the main concentration services and camps because there is evidence that lives of boys and men were lost, through haemophilia, saying the
situation was at the worst case during lockdowns because of lack of medication. Mootisa said multi-sectoral participation is highly needed to ease the burden of Haemophilia
in Lesotho as the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) needs to play part in Early Child Care Development (ECCD), and primary school care, that of Law
and Constitutional Affairs should offer services for liability and redress and Ministry of Finance allocate budgets for treatment of haemophilia patients and
those with rare bleeding disorders. The Minister of Health Hon. Semano Sekatle said he will present the letters in parliament and find the way forward for this rare disorder so that injection
could be made available to patients at home because hemophilia is a serious illness. Amohelang Moeti, a Qacha‘s Nek resident living with severe haemophilia said it is very
challenging to live with this disorder because most of the time there is no medication in his district so he constantly has to use public transport to
travel to Maseru to get injections at Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital where they are mostly available or get a referral to Bloemfontein. Moeti also said he is homebound because he is unable to work as he cannot lift heavy materials.
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