Today, 14 June 2011, as we celebrate the 7th World Blood Donor Day, I am particularly pleased to thank, once again, all those who generously donate a bit of their blood to save patients who need it for their survival.
World Blood Donor Day, this year, is being commemorated under the theme: "More blood. More life". This theme highlights two important and complementary aspects: (i) the need to collect more blood; (ii) the need to ensure the availability and accessibility of blood to a larger number of patients to save their lives.
Although countries of our Region have made remarkable progress in the collection of blood and the improvement of the quality of blood products, there is still much to do to ensure equitable distribution of blood wherever it is needed. For example, it is commonly noted that blood transfusion structures and technical expertise are concentrated in major cities to the detriment of rural areas where the majority of the population live.
In order to ensure substantial reduction of death among children, women and men at risk of death from haemorrhage or severe anaemia and thereby save lives as reflected in the theme of today's commemoration, we should take vigorous and appropriate measures not only to increase blood collection but also to set up functional and effective systems of distribution.
Access to blood and blood products coupled with generous donations by men and women eager to save endangered lives require that we redouble our efforts to provide better response to the aspirations of our populations. I am therefore urging officials in charge of health services in our countries to put special emphasis on raising the awareness of the people and mobilizing them to donate blood voluntarily and benevolently and to strengthen the human and technical capacities of services in charge of the recruitment and retention of blood donors.
I urge them to accelerate the establishment of blood transfusion facilities capable of covering the entire national territory and to provide them with adequate logistics to enable them to contact patient services in order to ensure fast distribution of blood and blood products to all health facilities.
As you know, the participation of voluntary blood donor associations whose action and dynamism are the cornerstone of every blood transfusion system is crucial. I would like to use this opportunity to thank them once again for their self-sacrifice and altruism and their invaluable contribution to improving the health of the populations.
I call upon all women and men of goodwill to join the membership of such associations to enable them to invigorate and amplify their efforts to prevent any further death of patients in our hospitals for lack of blood.
I also call upon all partners to increase their support to national blood transfusion programmes whose contribution to the control and spread of HIV/AIDS and the reduction of maternal and child mortality needs no further demonstration.
For its part, the WHO Regional Office for Africa will continue to put its expertise at the service of our countries to assist them to keep up the achievements and develop and implement new and appropriate strategies for providing better response to the needs of patients.
I thank you.