The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, has said Nigeria needs an estimated two million units of blood every year to adequately attend to its 200 million population.
He, however, regretted that less is currently donated, leading to avoidable deaths, morbidities, or ill health, particularly, among our womenfolk, newborns, and children, and victims of road traffic accidents and insurgencies.
He, nonetheless, was optimistic that the situation could improve if only one per cent of the country’s adult population commits themselves to voluntary non-remunerated blood donation on a regular basis.
Speaking at an event to commemorate the 2024
World Blood Donor Day, yesterday, in Abuja, Pate said that the National Blood Service
Commission (NBSC) is working tirelessly to ensure a safe and adequate blood supply for those who may need it.
Pate noted that the use of blood and blood products has become an integral part of modern medical practice, adding that access to safe blood and blood products is a key component of an effective health system and a significant building block for the successful achievement of health related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He observed that statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2023 showed that out of the 118.5 million blood donations collected globally, 40 per cent of these are from high-income countries.
