Dr Gyamfi expressed worry that out of the estimated number, Ghana had been able to diagnose only 525 of the cases, describing the figure as critically low and called for urgent action to tackle the gaps in diagnosis and access.

These statistics revealed a stark reality as thousands of people in the country might be living with bleeding disorders without knowing it, with many of them being women and girls.

Globally, there were 390,630 identified individuals living with bleeding disorders, of which 56 per cent had haemophilia, 26 per cent with von Willebrand Disease (vWD), and 18 per cent diagnosed with other bleeding disorders, she said.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to commemorate the 2025 World Haemophilia Day, Dr Gyamfi, explained that out of this global population, 65 per cent were males, and 34 per cent are females.

The Day, which is marked annually on April 17 globally, is to Dr Gyamfi said the theme sought to challenge long-held assumptions that bleeding disorders affect only males with haemophilia more frequently diagnose .

Many females also lived with symptoms of undiagnosed or misdiagnosed bleeding disorders and were “There is a significant representation of females in the nation’s haemophilia estimates, many of whom experience symptoms that go unnoticed or are wrongly attributed to other causes,” she stated.

Dr Eunice Ahmed Agyemang, a Haematologist, described bleeding disorders as a silent burden on women and girls, saying that females could also experience bleeding symptoms as carriers of the haemophilia gene or through other inherited disorders like von Willebrand Disease.

“Women and girls may suffer from heavy, prolonged menstrual bleeding, excessive bleeding during childbirth or surgeries and unexplained bruising,” she added.
She said “often, women and girls are told that heavy periods are just something they must live with, but in most cases, this is a sign of an underlying bleeding disorder. We must listen to them and take their symptoms seriously”.

Dr Agyemang explained that bleeding disorders were medical conditions where the “blood does not clot as it should”.
She said this happened because certain essential components needed for clotting were missing or not working properly and as a result individuals may experience prolonged bleeding, either spontaneously or after injury, surgery, or childbirth.

Dr Agyemang said bleeding disorders might be inherited (passed down from one or both parents through genes) or acquired (developing later in life due to other medical conditions, medications, or unknown causes).