Bayer HealthCare announced today the recipients of the 2008 International Hemophilia Nursing Fellowship, a program established by the World Federation of Hemophilia to improve the treatment of haemophilia in developing countries through state-of-the-art education and training. Bayer, the sole sponsor of the program, supports the fellowship as part of its commitment to people around the world living with haemophilia.
Bayer’s support of the International Hemophilia Nursing Fellowship Program directly improves treatment for some of the world’s most difficult-to-reach patients. Currently, approximately 70 percent of undiagnosed and undertreated people with haemophilia live in developing countries, where haemophilia-trained nurses and healthcare professionals are in short supply.
Two of this years fellowship winners will be trained in the UK:
• Nombuyekezo Felicity Ncapai from South Africa, to be trained at Oxford Haemophilia Centre
• Zahra Sha’bani from Iran, to be trained at the Royal Free NHS Trust in London
Nurses are critical members of the haemophilia treatment team, and through this fellowship, they receive clinical and laboratory training.
“We find it extremely rewarding to see the difference that a relatively small amount of time can make to developing the knowledge of nurses from countries less fortunate than our own,” said Lara Oyesiku, Haemophilia Nurse Specialist, Oxford Haemophilia Centre. “The learning process is of course two way; we too gain a great deal and are often humbled when hearing about the limited resources that they have to work with, of course it is the patients of these nurses that will really benefit when they go home.”
Lara went on to say how many of the nurses they have had in their centre stay in touch when they get home - contacting them when they have particularly challenging cases for their advice.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to learn new skills to help my patients and their families,” said Zahra Sha'bani from Tehran, Iran. “The opportunity to share the experience I gained from working alongside leading international nurses and doctors will be a tremendous asset to my local haemophilia community.”
Bayer has also demonstrated its commitment to the global haemophilia community by donating product, both directly and through the WFH to address humanitarian needs; funding haemophilia research and education through the Bayer Hemophilia Awards Program; and supporting leadership training programs — such as Step Up Reach Out — to help develop the next generation of advocates within the bleeding disorders community.
