Salomon

Determined to play sport and go to school

Salomon is a 10-year old haemophilia A patient who lives in Kenya. He walks a kilometre to school with a donated crutch – even when it rains or when he has a bleed.

On several occasions his mother Alice even carried him to school. These feats are by no means small, as Salomon lives in Kibera, near Nairobi, which is the second-largest slum in the world. By some counts, the population of the neighbourhood is over a million people. In this environment, rain often turns the earthen streets into treacherously muddy terrain.

Salomon has been receiving donated factor from the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program for five years. The donations have had a major impact on his life as they allow him to be physically active. He knows that if he has a bleed, it can be halted before it becomes serious. Salomon had some access to prophylactic treatment from birth, which, while not enough to allow him to keep full mobility in his legs, nevertheless prevented him from being wheelchair-bound – something which sadly is the fate of many children with haemophilia in the developing world. Ideally, all children with haemophilia in Kenya would be put on prophylactic treatment from birth in order to prevent dangerous bleeds, but factor supply is limited in the country.

Despite the challenge of living with crutches, Salomon is a happy boy with a joy for life. The young Kenyan plays video games, and spends time with his friends and family as any other boy would. He also goes to school, where he enjoys learning about science. His physician – Dr Kibet Shikuku – visits him in Kibera to monitor his health and help him with his treatment. Asked how he finds his way to his young patient in the confusing labyrinth of shacks and roads of Kibera, Dr Shikuku explains that he uses landmarks to get to the general vicinity of Salomon’s home, and then asks for more precise directions from locals.

While Salomon uses crutches, he is still mobile enough to play football – an activity those without access to factor simply cannot risk. Salomon’s relationship to the sport is more than just a passing interest – it’s more of a passion. He plays often, despite his haemophilia. In fact, he plays so much football that Dr Shikuku says, good-naturedly: “He loves football like you wouldn’t believe. But we don’t have enough factor to let him play as much as he wants. We would of course like to give him more factor… We fight every time he comes to visit me because he plays so much football!”

The WFH Humanitarian Aid Program is very active in Kenya. In 2019 alone, the programme facilitated the donation of nearly 6 million international units (IU) of factor. Since 2015, the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program has provided nearly 17 million IU of factor to the African nation.

About the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program

The WFH Humanitarian Aid Program addresses the lack of access to care and treatment by providing much-needed support for people with inherited bleeding disorders in developing countries. By providing patients with a more predictable and sustainable flow of humanitarian aid donations, the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program makes it possible for patients to receive consistent and reliable access to treatment and care. None of this would be possible without the generous support of Sanofi Genzyme and Sobi, our Founding Visionary Contributors; Bayer, our Visionary Contributor; Grifols and Roche, our Leadership Contributors; and our Contributor, CSL Behring. To learn more about the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program, visit www.treatmentforall.org