The official Opening Ceremony of the World Haemophilia Congress took place on Sunday 24th July 2016 in the Orange County Convention Centre in Orlando, Florida. The ceremony featured a welcome address from the Chairperson of the National Hemophilia Foundation USA (NHF) Jorge de la Riva and from World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) President Alain Weill. They then spoke at a panel discussion about the exciting times ahead in the world of haemophilia and bleeding disorders. The overall theme was clear: progress is being made, and lives are being impacted in a positive way.
The evening also showcased the commitments the WFH and the NHF have made to positively impact the bleeding disorder community now and in the near future. CEO of the NHF Val Bias spoke enthusiastically about the WFH Humanitarian Aid Programme, saying, “These new realities provide us with a unique opportunity to work together to make today’s therapies available to more people around the world with bleeding disorders—many of whom were previously undiagnosed or lacked access to treatment.” Alain Baumann, CEO of the WFH also commented on one of the WFH’s major objectives for the next five years: “By 2020, we’ve committed to working towards identifying 50,000 new individuals with bleeding disorders—50 percent of whom are from the world’s most impoverished nations. We’re off to a great start and we’re up to the challenge.”
The evening concluded with the opening of the Exhibition Hall. Attendees enjoyed canapés and refreshments and had the opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and friends and talk about all the exciting events the Congress will be offering in the coming days.
With over 5,000 delegates from 130 countries, a lineup of plenaries, workshops, sessions presented by expert leaders, top clinicians, scientists, people with haemophilia and related bleeding disorders, the week ahead was surely going to be a great success. I hope you will find some interesting and inspiring articles in this supplement.
Debbie Greene
Please click on this link to read the I.H.S. supplement on the World Federation of Hemophilia Congress that took place in Orlando in July 2016.