The United States Government, through USAID, donated equipment worth $100,000 to the National Blood and Tissue Bank for the creation of ten blood banks across the country.
The donations of refrigerators, blood warmers, and cold boxes will provide health centers with a safe supply of blood and blood products. As a result, these facilities will make life-saving blood services available for approximately four million people in six regions.
In addition, these donations will help Ethiopia Blood and Tissue Bank to meet their goal of reducing the risks of hemorrhage, a significant cause of maternal mortality. According to international organizations, an estimated 155,000 Ethiopians were saved last year through blood transfusions.
Postpartum hemorrhage – excessive bleeding after childbirth – is the leading cause of maternal deaths worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, postpartum hemorrhage accounts for 60 percent of maternal deaths in developing countries. Blood and blood products are vital for the transfusions that save the lives of these new mothers, as well as the lives of countless men and women injured in traffic accidents.
In 2016, after seeing the need for blood services in Ethiopia, USAID and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief invested $5.5 million to construct the National Blood and Tissue Bank headquarters – the site for the handover ceremony on Tuesday, 9 July 2024. The headquarters currently manage 50 blood banks throughout Ethiopia that provide blood to 735 health facilities.
USAID is Ethiopia’s largest bilateral donor and invests nearly $200 million every year to strengthen Ethiopia’s national health system and improve the quality of health services across the country.