The National Orientation Agency (NOA) says it is embarking on “Donate Blood to Save a Life Campaign” to improve the heath outcomes of Nigerians and save the humanity.

The Director-General of NOA, Dr Garba Abari, said this on Wednesday at a two-day Sensitisation and Awareness Campaign on Voluntary Blood Donation to Save Lives in Abuja.

Theme of the campaign was “Safe Blood Save Lives”

The director-general said that the NOA partnered with the National Blood Service Commission (NBSC) to educate the public on the need for safe blood and voluntary blood donation.

He recalled that on Nov. 25, 2020, the two organisations inaugurated committee to chart a workable framework for the implementation of the “Voluntary Blood Donation Drive” campaign.

According to him, this was aimed at addressing the gap in voluntary blood donation and availability of safe blood across the country.

The Director-General of NBSC, Dr Omale Amedu, said that Nigeria still records abysmally low rates of voluntary blood donation.

Amedu said, “According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in Nigeria, the most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa, the need for safe blood is immense, as an estimated 183 women die every single day from pregnancy or delivery.

“Additionally, large numbers of children suffer from conditions such as sickle cell disease and other illnesses often lacking access to a safe, available and affordable national blood supply to survive.”

Prof. Innocent Ujah, the President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) called on the Federal Government to improve the funding of NBSC to cater for the blood transfusion needs of Nigerians.

Ujah was represented by Dr Ahmed Attah, Chairman, NMA Committee on Blood Transfusion and Hematological Service.

He urged the Federal Ministry of Health to bridge infrastructural gap and address lack of adequate equipment and manpower in the NBSC across the zones and states in the country.

Mr Nathan John, a blood donor, said that what inspired him to donate blood four times in every year was that he was told that the blood he transfused saves lives.

John, who said he began the donation of blood at age of 23, said that he had so far donated 68 times.

He called on the youths to emulate his kind gesture to save lives in the country.