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Charlotte Nankunda Kainerugaba, the wife of Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), has appealed to the citizens of Uganda to embrace voluntary blood donation in order to end the country’s chronic blood shortage.
Mrs. Kainerugaba made the appeal on Friday, while presiding as the Chief Guest of Honour during this year’s World Blood Donor Day celebrations, an event held at the Uganda Blood Transfusion Services (UBTS) headquarters in Nakasero.
During the celebrations, Charlotte Kainerugaba inspected the facility’s storage and distribution systems and engaged with health workers and regular donors, observing that the blood shortage endangers mothers, accident victims, and the critically ill.
Charlotte noted that Uganda requires at least 500,000 units of blood annually but collects only about 350,000 units, leaving a deficit of nearly 150,000 units.
Health
She emphasized that everyone, communities, health workers, leaders, and families, has a role to play, calling for greater awareness of dangerous signs during and after pregnancy.
“We all have a role: communities, health workers, leaders, and families. We must raise awareness so families recognise dangerous signs in pregnancy and after birth. We must make sure mothers are referred quickly to facilities that can help,” Mrs. Kainerugaba stated.
According to the Ministry of health , excessive bleeding after childbirth remains the leading cause of maternal deaths in Uganda, accounting for one in every three maternal deaths after delivery.
Mrs. Kainerugaba noted that a mother experiencing such bleeding must be under the care of skilled practitioners and receive timely medical interventions, including blood products, within two hours for the best chance of survival.
“I wish to thank regular blood donors for their life-saving contributions. Remember, blood cannot be bought or manufactured. It comes from people like us. Let us stand with the Ministry of Health and donate a unit of blood. Your gift will protect countless lives of mothers and babies,” noted Charlotte.
Dr. Lawrence Kazibwe, deputy executive director of Kawempe National Referral Hospital, painted a stark picture of the daily need, noting that the hospital delivers between 60 and 100 mothers every 24 hours.
He added that approximately 50 percent of those deliveries are through cesarean section, and of all deliveries, about 10 to 15 percent result in postpartum haemorrhage.
“On a daily basis, we are delivering 60 to 100 mothers in 24 hours. Approximately 50 percent are delivered through cesarean section. Of these deliveries, about 10 to 15 percent suffer from postpartum haemorrhage,” Dr. Kazibwe stated.
Dorothy Kveyune Byabazaire, executive director of the Uganda Blood Transfusion Services, noted that ensuring a safe and timely blood supply requires strong national coordination in collection, testing, storage, and distribution.
She also raised concerns about accountability, stating that many times blood supplied to health facilities is not properly accounted for, and emphasized that when there is no donor, there is no blood bank.
“If we’ve given you 10 units of blood, please account for them and explain how that blood was used. But many times, blood is not accounted for. When there is no donor, there is no blood bank,” Dorothy said.
Dr. Richard Mugaahi, commissioner for reproductive, maternal and infant health at the Ministry of Health, said the government intends to strengthen regional blood collection and distribution systems.
Meanwhile, the government plans to have regional blood banks working closely with the central coordination in Nakasero to ensure blood is available in every region, with the aim of eliminating preventable deaths.
, https://eastafricanwatch.net/gen-muhoozis-wife-calls-on-ugandans-to-end-terrible-blood-shortage-through-voluntary-donation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gen-muhoozis-wife-calls-on-ugandans-to-end-terrible-blood-shortage-through-voluntary-donation
