We're there! As of July 25, 2025, through the generosity of many, including you(!), Agnes' team has raised sufficient funds for the van! What a great accomplishment! And what a huge impact this will have on the lives of all those kids with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders! Wonderful news!
The goal is to purchase a motor vehicle (van) to be used in an outreach program in Uganda, so that the estimated 5000 patients (mostly children) who suffer from hemophilia, an inherited bleeding disorder, can gain access to critically needed health care. Such a resource will enable early diagnosis and treatment, and minimize - and ideally prevent - the inevitable crippling effects of repeated bleeding into joints. Children's lives would be improved. They could go to school. They could be pain-free from arthritis. They may even be able to play football with their friends! This campaign aims to raise funds to purchase a Toyota HiAce Model 2012 Commercial Van for the Hemophilia Foundation of Uganda's outreach program.
Dear Supporters,
Canada has a population of ~40 million people. There are ~4000 patients who carry the gene that causes them to have hemophilia A, a severe bleeding disorder. The diagnosis in Canada is made early in childhood, and today, with top-notch treatment and care, the vast majority of individuals with this otherwise devastating disease, enjoy entirely healthy lives. The situation in Uganda is drastically different. With a population of ~50 million, there are an estimated 5000 people living with hemophilia. However, in mostly rural Uganda, resources are sparse, medical care is limited, transportation is difficult, and awareness of bleeding disorders is lacking. It is no surprise then, that most children with hemophilia go undiagnosed. In fact, fewer than 400 children have been identified as having this disease; meaning that the rest (>4500) go untreated, suffer terrible disabling bleeds, and often die unnecessarily, at a young age.
This can be prevented! Indeed, change is on the way. Uganda has a champion! Agnes Kisakye, the Executive Secretary of the Hemophilia Foundation of Uganda (HFU) is making great strides. In the past 15 years Agnes is increasingly garnering support, and is almost single-handedly leading awareness campaigns throughout the country, cutting across multiple language barriers, and identifying patients and families for early diagnosis and treatment across all regions of the country. This has not come without enormous challenges.
Until 6-7 years ago, the only fully-resourced diagnosis and treatment center for hemophilia was Kampala. Due to often impassable roads, even within the city, a trip to the clinic can take hours - much too long to treat a serious bleed. Journeys from rural areas for diagnosis and care, take longer - a truly impossible trip for most. Raising funds from many donors, Agnes thus led the establishment of nine satellite hemophilia treatment centers, situated throughout Uganda, that are staffed with well-trained personnel and excellent equipment. This has improved awareness and access for many, but far from all.
Thus, in spite of these advances, patient outreach remains pivotal. This is not only to provide health care and supportive services to the many hard-to-reach individuals and their families who still cannot access satellite clinics due to travel limitations, but also to trace family members who may be carrying the hemophilia gene, to increase awareness in remote regions of the disease and means of preventing bleeds, and to promote community engagement in supporting patients and their families.
Recognizing the critical need for a motor vehicle to enable its outreach program, kind donors in 2016 gifted a Toyota Noah to the HFU that has reaped huge benefits. Through the past 8 years, this minivan has seen better days, having suffered thousands of hours on Uganda's rough rural roads in rain and shine. The repair costs are escalating and it is time for a refresh. The HFU is therefore asking you to contribute to the purchase of a 2012 Toyota HiAce van.
With your support, we can improve the care of patients already known to have hemophilia, and identify new patients early, before they have repeated bleeds. We will be providing these children with the chance to share the joys of childhood as yours do, with their friends and family; and their parents with the delight of watching them grow in health, to hopefully enjoy long and fruitful lives!