Uganda regularly faces a shortage of blood, forcing the Government to issue blood donation appeals. Only 1% of people eligible to donate blood in Uganda regularly do so, which causes frequent shortages of safe blood across the country. Uganda only collects about 170,000 units of blood a year, compared 350,000 units recommended for Uganda by the World Health Organization (WHO).
To overcome this health challenge, the Fund partners with Uganda Blood Transfusion Services (UBTS) to organize annual blood donation drives to respond to shortage of blood in the country. On average, our annual drives generate about 8,000 units of blood, potentially saving the lives of about 24,000 people every year. In addition, we have created awareness of the importance of donation of safe blood. As a result, over the years, several groups of people and organisations have joined the blood donation drives.
