Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE government is implementing measures to improve research in health as an important area towards finding solutions to challenges facing the sector, including high cost of haemophilia treatment.
According to experts, haemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder that slows the blood clotting process. People with this condition experience prolonged bleeding or oozing following an injury, surgery, or having a tooth pulled.
Statistics from Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) indicate that the cost of drug therapy for a person with haemophilia is 240m/- per year. The national hospital is implementing a three year haemophilia project aimed at accelerating public access to blood disorder care in the country.
The Deputy Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Dr Godwin Mollel said yesterday during commemoration of the World Haemophilia Day held at MNH that there is need for researching on complex issues that will provide solutions to various challenges facing the country.
“If the cost of drug therapy for a person with haemophilia is 240m/- per year, it means that these people invested a lot in research… we also need to invest heavily in research that will lead us to innovation,” Dr Mollel said.
He noted that MNH and Muhimbili University of Health and allied Sciences (MUHAS) are crucial institutions which can conduct research and provide scientific findings on issues facing the public. “It is important to invest in research, and as the government we are working to improve this field, we want our research to lead us to innovation,” he noted.
A Haematologist at MNH, Dr Stella Rwezaura, who is also the Project Coordinator, said that official statistics indicate that based on the current population, Tanzania is likely to have between 6,000 and 12, 000 patients while those who have been diagnosed and have started treatment are only 167.
Dr Rwezaura added that the project also aimed at complementing government efforts by increasing access to diagnosis services in all referral hospitals in the country and increase the number of hematologists and proper infrastructure for the patients. She noted that symptoms of haemophilia include swelling, bleeding and bruising, which most of them start earlier after birth.
Dr Rwezaura said that people with haemophilia can live a normal life if they are provided with proper treatment, including clotting factor. She noted further that the project, among others, has helped to raise awareness on the disorder to the community, medical professionals and policy makers, adding that it will also help to improve patients’ registry at least in all referral hospitals.
World Haemophilia Day is an international awareness day for haemophilia and other bleeding disorders. It is held annually on April 17. The theme for this year is “Zero Bleeding, Disability and Death + Test now”
