UN staff give blood to save lives

On 14 June 2023, United Nations staff, led by the UN Country Team (UNCT), partnered with the Eswatini National Blood Transfusion Services (ENBTS) to commemorate World Blood Donor Day with the theme, “Give blood, give plasma, share life, share often.”

Under the technical leadership of the World Health Organization (WHO) and in collaboration with the UN Staff Federation and the UN Communications Group (UNCG), UN staff members commemorated the Day by donating blood to the national blood transfusion unit.

The United Nations in Eswatini has over 100 staff members from 9 resident UN entities, including WHO, UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, IOM, FAO, UNESCO, WFP and UNAIDS. The UN in Eswatini is also made up of 8 non-resident UN entities, including ILO, UNEP, UNHCR, OHCHR, UNIDO, IFAD, UNODC and UN Women, making a total of 17 UN agencies, funds and programmes operating in Eswatini.

The commemoration kicked off with messages from WHO Representative, Dr. Susan Tembo, President of the UN Staff Federation and UN Resident Coordinator, George Wachira. Gugu Maphalala, head of the Eswatini National Blood Transfusion Services, delivered a presentation on the state of blood transfusion in the country.

In her remarks, Dr. Tembo, noted that the theme focuses on patients requiring life-long transfusion support and underlines the role every single person can play, by giving the valuable gift of blood or plasma. “It also highlights the importance of giving blood or plasma regularly to create a safe and sustainable supply of blood and blood products that can be always available, so that all patients in need can receive timely treatment,” she said.

Staff Federation President, Linda Nxumalo, expressed appreciation that some UN staff were already in the habit of donating blood, which is trait that needs to be promoted among everyone. “I noted when we were doing the mobilization that some staff members indicated that they had recently donated and therefore may not be eligible to donate again today,” she said.

In his remarks, the UN Resident Coordinator, George Wachira commended UN staff for making it a culture to give blood to save the lives of Emaswati and thanked WHO for its leadership in the area. He emphasized that giving blood was the greatest act of heroism, as having your blood flow in someone else’s veins, usually a stranger, is akin to giving them new life. He noted that people need blood for various reasons and conditions, many of which are unavoidable such as illnesses. He however reminded staff that last month we observed the UN Global Road Safety Week and reminded that improved road safety can help reduce the demand for blood and channel the stocks to the unavoidable situations. “We note that the Government, with support from partners, including WHO, has been working on a road safety strategy which also speaks to the issues of giving blood,” he said. Finally, Wachira noted that the COVID-19 lockdowns were a reminder that we cannot rely only on schools for a blood donations campaigns and that healthy adults should share this important contribution with our young population in schools.

ENTBS Manager, Gugu Maphalala, encouraged staff to donate blood often so that the blood bank has enough blood to save those in need. She mentioned that after the decline in blood donation caused by the COVID pandemic, things were slowly taking shape, and they were seeing more Emaswati to come to donate blood. Eswatini has a target of 15,000 units per year but was still at just above 60% currently.

The transfusion of blood and blood products save millions of lives every year. Blood and blood products are essential components in the proper management of women suffering from bleeding associated with pregnancy and childbirth; children suffering from severe anaemia due to malaria and malnutrition; patients with blood and bone marrow disorders, inherited disorders of haemoglobin and immune deficiency conditions; victims of trauma, emergencies, disasters and accidents; as well as patients undergoing advanced medical and surgical procedures.