Dr. Haffar trained in medicine at the University of Damascus in Syria. In 1982, he received an MSc. in occupational medicine from the University of London and a diploma in environmental health from the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in Kitakyushu City, Japan in 1987.
Dr. Haffar joined the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH), based in Montreal, as program officer for the Middle East and Africa and humanitarian aid in 2000. Today, he is the Director of the Medical & Humanitarian Aid Program of WFH.