Due to the declining blood supply in the country’s hospitals and a rise in blood shortages, the National Insurance Commission (NIC) is partnering with various organizations in Ghana’s insurance sector to replenish blood banks nationwide on September 27, 2023.
The objective is to safeguard the lives of pregnant women in labor, children, accident victims, and others who may require blood for their survival.
In a statement released by the insurance regulator, the blood donation initiative has become a necessity, urging the insurance industry to contribute to restocking the nation’s blood banks.
“The insurance industry does not work in isolation from the people they are expected to insure either by way of their lives or by the assets that are insured,” the statement read.
“This gesture by the Insurance industry followed a request to the NIC by the National Blood Service (NBS) to the industry in 2021 to help re-stock the country’s blood banks which were fast running out of stock. As part of the Industry’s Corporate Social Responsibility, the entire insurance industry kick-started this annual campaign and donated 801 units of blood in 2021. The numbers increased exponentially in 2022 with a record 2,015,” it added.
The NIC also announced that the industry is preparing for another nationwide blood donation campaign this year, with higher expectations.
Dr. Emmanuel K. Srofenyoh, Director of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital at Ridge, will deliver the keynote address at the launch of the 2023 Blood Donation Campaign on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at the NIC’s headquarters in Accra.
The theme for this year’s campaign is “Donate blood; save a life – as you do it for someone, you do it for yourself.”
Additionally, the Chief Executive Officers of insurance companies will be the first to donate blood to support the Oncology Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in observance of Childhood Cancer Month (September).