VP Mujuru assures blood bank on funds VP Mujuru
VP Mujuru

VP Mujuru

Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
VICE-President Cde Joice Mujuru said government is committed to funding the National Blood Service of Zimbabwe (NBSZ) to ensure adequate blood supplies to hospitals. Officially opening the 7th biennial congress of the Africa Society for Blood Transfusion (ASBT) in Victoria Falls on Wednesday, Cde Mujuru said government was committed to ensuring that the NBSZ was fully funded so that it meets the national demand for blood.

In a speech read on her behalf by Minister of State in her office Cde Sylvester Nguni, Cde Mujuru said Zimbabwe had for the past 60 years relied on blood donated by volunteers.

“Voluntary unpaid blood donations are the cornerstone of a sustainable national blood programme. I’m proud to say Zimbabwe has from the beginning of 1954 relied on 100 percent voluntary unpaid blood donations.

“NBSZ has maintained this policy and has reduced transfusion infections and maintained adequate as well as accessible blood supplies countrywide,” said Cde Mujuru.

She said government would ensure NBSZ’s planned activities are fully funded to enable it to meet demand for blood and blood components.
She paid tribute to NBSZ for embarking on a comprehensive national programme of training clinicians, nurses and scientists saying the country was on the right track to meet its Millennium Development Goals.

“Zimbabwe is proud to have initiated the strategy to educate, motivate, recruit and retain blood donors from the youth which has been adopted by the World Health Organisation and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as well as many other international organisations into a global strategy called ‘Club 25’,” said Cde Mujuru.

Addressing the same congress, Matabeleland North Provincial Minister of State Cde Cain Mathema said demand for blood was high because of increased road traffic accidents that the country was recording.

In a speech read on his behalf by Victoria Falls Mayor Councillor Sifiso Mpofu, Cde Mathema said it was therefore important for all stakeholders to educate the people on the importance of donating blood.

“With the increased carnage on our roads, the demand for blood is correspondingly high but at times we only realise the importance of donating blood when something happens to a close friend or relative,” he said.

Chairman of ASBT local organising committee David Mvere said the collaboration of blood services and its partners was very crucial.
The congress, which ends today, runs under the theme “safe and sustainable blood service, lifeblood of the future.”

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