This is according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Regular blood donations ensure that all individuals and communities around the world have access to affordable and timely supplies of safe and quality-assured blood and blood products - an integral part of universal health coverage and a key component of effective health systems - the WHO said in a statement.

This year's campaign focuses on celebrating and thanking individuals who donate blood and to encourage those who have not yet donated blood to start doing so. The campaign theme is “Safe blood saves lives”, with the slogan “Give blood and make the world a healthier place”.

According to a recent WHO report, the African region faces a high demand for blood transfusions due to bleeding related to pregnancy and childbirth, the high prevalence of malaria with the attendant complications of severe malarial anemia, high rates of road traffic accidents, and various types of injury, among other things.

According to the organisation, this year's campaign seeks to highlight the need for committed, year-round blood donations to maintain adequate supplies and achieve universal and timely access to safe blood transfusions, while also focusing attention on the contribution donors make to the entire community.

In February this year, Kenya faced a serious shortage of blood supplies in its hospitals, the BBC reported. During  2018/19, only 164,000 units of blood were collected in the country, which showed that Kenyans were reluctant to donate blood, the British broadcaster reported.

In addition, 77 percent of people who donated blood in 2018 were first-time donors, showing the importance of repeat blood donors to ensure a regular supply of blood and reduce the cost and effort involved in trying to find first-time donors.

Most funding for Kenya’s blood programme came from outside donors, about 80 percent, according to a recent government report. The BBC reported that some of the funds were also allocated to an outreach programme, with mobile units collecting blood at schools, universities, and other public places around the country.

The main donor was the US government, through the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief - known as Pepfar for short. However, the funding was cut in September, resulting in supplies and equipment for the blood collection programme being stopped.

World Blood Donor Day also seeks to mobilise support from governments and development partners at global, national, and regional levels to invest in, strengthen, and sustain national blood donation programmes.

African News Agency (ANA)