At the 79th World Health Assembly, World Health Organization (WHO) member states unanimously adopted a landmark resolution on Global Action to Advance Health Equity for People with Hemophilia and Other Bleeding Disorders.
This marks a major milestone in global health policy, elevating bleeding disorders as a global health priority and committing countries to address longstanding inequities in diagnosis, care and treatment.
The urgency of this resolution is clear. Currently, nearly 70% of people with bleeding disorders remain underdiagnosed, with von Willebrand Disease – one of the most common bleeding disorders – even more underdiagnosed. Women and girls, in particular, continue to face substantial delays in diagnosis and encounter barriers to care, exposing them to greater risks of anemia, iron deficiency and complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Access to care remains especially inequitable in low- and middle-income countries.
Sustained advocacy, led by the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH), made this resolution a reality. WFH, a global organization that represents people who live with bleeding disorders, mobilized a global coalition of more than 100 patient and clinical organizations and worked closely with member states to secure adoption of the resolution.
The resolution establishes a framework to improve outcomes for people living with bleeding disorders. Its goals include:
- reducing underdiagnosis, strengthening surveillance and registries
- expanding access to safe and affordable treatment
- integrating bleeding disorders into national health systems and universal healthcare coverage strategies
- promoting inclusive, gender-specific care, particularly for women and girls
CSL has long participated in the WFH’s Humanitarian Aid Program to bring needed medicines to underserved parts of the world, where too many people with bleeding disorders go without treatments that can protect their health. CSL is also proud to support the WFH Path to Access to Care and Treatment (PACT) Program to advance diagnosis, enhance training and advocacy to improve national care.
This resolution will help accelerate both of these critical programs and aligns with CSL’s commitment to improve access and equity for patients and allow us to strengthen our partnership with WFH. We look forward to building sustainable access models beyond our humanitarian aid program.
My CSL colleague, Dr. Sujan Sivasubramaniyam, Head of Global Patient Advocacy and Policy, has seen the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program at work in Uzbekistan. He described the WHO resolution as a big step forward that can be a catalyst for improvements in local care. It opens the door for stronger health systems and the integration of bleeding disorders in local health policy, health coverage and primary care.
“This will add weight to national advocacy efforts to create solutions that reflect local realities, needs and priorities,” he said.
We’re hopeful that governments will take the next steps and translate the WHO resolution into effective country-level action that includes collaboration among the WHO, the patient and medical communities, and partners like CSL.
