Kampala – Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) in Uganda along with the National Blood Bank and Kampala Rotary Club, Munyonyo, will be engaging in the annual blood donation drive where Ugandans are encouraged to give blood and help save countless lives across the country. This drive will raise awareness for the need for regular blood donations, easy access to those donations and timely supply of safe and quality-assured blood and blood products as a key part of health care in Uganda.
At the launch on 8th June 2021, it was shared that multiple districts, along with the capital city of Kampala, will be part of this initiative including Fort Portal, Jinja, Masaka and Mbale along with neighbouring towns like Entebbe. Globally, every year leading up to June 14th, all countries celebrate World Blood Donor Day to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gift of blood.
Statistics from Uganda Red Cross Society indicate that 250,000 units of blood are distributed to all hospitals in Uganda annually, compared to the recommended 350,000 units by World Health Organization (WHO) which implies a huge shortage in blood availability in Ugandan hospitals. As CCBA, it One of the key community initiatives for CCBA is to help in fixing this shortage and therefore aiding the Uganda heath care program.
“Many Ugandans struggle to find safe blood available because donations are low and equipment to test blood is scarce. This blood donation drive will assist to change this situation and we call upon all members of the public to take part in it”, Peter Kagwa – President of Rotary Club of Munyonyo in Uganda and Chief Mobilizer of the Blood Donation Drive.
The week-long drive intends to raise awareness of the need for regular blood donations to ensure that all individuals and communities have access to affordable and timely supplies of safe and quality-assured blood and blood products, as an integral part of universal health coverage and a key component of effective health systems.
“CCBA would like to try to contribute to the betterment of our healthcare and as we approach the International Blood Donor Day on 14th June, we want to reach out to Ugandans to donate blood and fill the deficit that we are now experiencing,” said Simon Kaheru, Public Affairs and Communications Director, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.
“An adequate supply of safe blood can only be assured through regular donations by voluntary blood donors. Therefore, we are joining this drive to thank blood donors and encourage more people to give blood freely in order to save lives,” Kaheru said.
The blood drive, launched on 8th June under the campaign theme “Give Blood And Keep The World Beating”, will move across various districts and towns in Uganda supported by CCBA, Uganda Blood Transfusion Services (UBTS), Rotary Blood Bank Mengo, Uganda Red Cross Society, MTN Uganda, Next Media, The Ugandan Indian Association among many other dedicated organisations and groups.
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