23 Women Die Daily Due to Lack of Access to Safe Blood in Nigeria- Expert

 

The consultant said that the figure was out of the 165 women who died from child birth complications every day.

He attributed the development to cultural beliefs, poverty and lack of funds, which he said, constituted a major challenge to effective blood donation and transfusion in the country.

Izedonmwen, who is in charge of Monitoring and Evaluation of blood donation and transfusion, made the disclosure in an interview in Lagos on Friday.

He said it was impossible for the Federal Government alone to provide everything for the people.

``I don’t believe government should do everything. I believe people should drive the process before government can key in. Government is supposed to coordinate peoples` affairs.

``Especially the media. You people have the key to making this a success and unless we stop seeing it as a commercial process.

``Talking about this, I have realised that our lives depend on it, your life depends on it; we would not move further.

``Let me give you an example, Dana plane crash that killed 153 people. The whole country was at a standstill, people were mourning.

``But, everyday 165 women die from child birth and 23 of those women would die because they do not have access to blood.

``These are issues that could be me, my wife, my brother, my sister, my friend that died and to me that is not an issue to be commercialised.

``I want to see a situation where the media will take it as a challenge to breaking the jinx in blood donation, volunteerism to donate blood.”

He said that lack of public awareness and the political will had hindered the development of an effective blood donation and transfusion system in the country.

Izedonmwen, however, advised the media to create awareness on the significance of an effective system of blood donation and transfusion.

``There is myriad of problems, low awareness of voluntary non-remunerated donation in Nigeria.

``Lots of people do not know that blood is an essential part of medicine and that lots of people die because they do not have accessibility to safe blood.

``The top most on the challenges; we have challenges of culture beliefs, funds, we have challenges of political will to drive the process and so many other challenges.

``But central to all these challenges is the low awareness of the Nigerian people to blood. Of course, people are also very poor; once poverty takes the centre stage, it is difficult to get people to see other things, raising awareness to help blood transfusion or blood donation in Nigeria.”

The blood transfusion service is a project under the Federal Ministry of Health empowered to centrally coordinate blood transfusion services in the country.