By Francis Chipalo
Haemophilia Foundation of Zambia (HFZ) has expressed worry with high levels of ignorance among some members of the public about the condition.
Haemophilia is a rare medical condition in which the ability of the blood to clot is severely reduced, causing the sufferer to bleed severely from even a slight injury.
The condition is typically caused by a hereditary lack of a coagulation factor, and it primarily affects males, according to research with about 1 in 5,000 males born with the disorder globally.
Speaking in a vox-pop in Lusaka’s Chawama township during an awareness program organized by the
Zambian Childhood Cancer Foundation (ZACCAF), the community members expressed ignorance about the condition.
The majority of the residents likened the condition to witchcraft, a myth which ZACCAF and Haemophilia Foundation of Zambia (HFZ) business development officer Mukuma Chikomba said needed to be addressed.
Chikomba said in an interview that a number of people were ignorant about haemophilia and other blood – related conditions being alien in the country.
He attributed the status quo to lack of awareness, adding that this had contributed to the country just having slightly around 300 haemophilia patients.
“And that is why we are doing these awareness programs in conjunction with our colleagues from the blood bank because we have observed that a number of people are ignorant about haemophilia and other blood disorders,” Chikomba said.
Chikomba indicated that inadequate funding had hindered his organization from reaching out to many.
“Our desire is to reach as many people as possible across the country, but funding has been the biggest challenge although that has still not stopped us from reaching out because so far, we are establishing centers in provincial capitals with five centers currently in place and we hope to have many centers as we go on so that we can bring these services closer to the people especially haemophilia patients,” he said.
Chikomba has since appealed to cooperating partners as well as individuals to come forward and support his organization’s efforts in dealing with haemophilia in the country.
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