The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has called on all state governments to take ownership of the blood safety programme in their respective domains.
Ehanire made the call on Tuesday during the commemoration of the World Blood Donor Day in Abuja.
He said doing so will ensure the sustainability of the blood safety programme nationwide, adding that it is important for the country to take full ownership of the Blood Safety Programme in line with the dictates of the National Blood Policy and the resolutions made at the 58th National Council on Health in March this year.
“Any infected blood transfused has serious consequences, and the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) needs adequate funding to ensure consistent supply of safe blood, a task which requires the support of the federal government, multilateral and bilateral agencies and non-governmental organization,” he said.
He said the National Blood Transfusion Service draft bill which will grant the organization the autonomy it requires to carry out its mandate is being prepared for submission to the Federal Executive Council and onward transmission to the National Assembly as an executive bill. While thanking voluntary blood donors and the US government for supporting the NBTS for 10 years, he said the actual blood requirement for Nigeria is greater than the estimated 1.7 million units per annum.
Country Director, Safe Blood for Africa Foundation, Idris Saliu enjoined people especially young ones who have never donated blood to become voluntary donors.
Earlier, acting permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Wapada Balami said the theme for this year’s campaign “Blood connects us all” focuses on thanking blood donors for sharing life saying it highlights the dimension of “sharing” and “connection” between blood donors and patients.
He said the slogan “Share life, give blood” adopted for this year, draws attention to the role that the voluntary blood donation system plays in encouraging people to care for one another and promote community cohesion and a healthier society.
By: Kuni Tyessi
Leadership News
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