Airtel Malawi MD Kamoto (in red) registering to donate blood
* We are deeply committed to the health and well-being of Malawians—Airtel Malawi Managing Director, Charles Kamoto
* Airtel’s consistent support has been instrumental in addressing the blood shortage crisis—MBTS spokesperson, Upile Kaimvi
By Duncan Mlanjira
In a remarkable display of corporate social responsibility, Airtel Malawi today successfully concluded its annual blood donation drive, surpassing previous records with an overwhelming turnout of over 35 donors.
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Partnering with the Malawi Blood Transfusion Service (MBTS), the event aimed to address the critical blood shortage affecting hospitals across the country.
A statement from Airtel Malawi takes cognizance that Malawi faces a persistent blood crisis, with many lives at risk due to insufficient supply and this year’s drive was a crucial step towards mitigating this challenge.
Airtel Malawi’s Managing Director, Charles Kamoto, expressed pride in the company’s contribution to the community, saying the collected blood units will significantly bolster the nation’s blood bank, ensuring timely and adequate supply for patients in need.
“We are deeply committed to the health and well-being of Malawians,” he is quoted as saying. “This year’s blood donation drive is a testament to our dedication. By coming together, we have saved lives and made a tangible difference.”
On behalf of MBTS, public relations officer, Upile Kaimvi hailed Airtel Malawi as a true champion of public health: “Airtel’s consistent support has been instrumental in addressing the blood shortage crisis in Malawi. Their commitment to organising this annual event is an inspiration to other corporations.”
Beyond the immediate impact, Airtel Malawi says it aims to foster a culture of blood donation in the country as the company plans to intensify awareness campaigns and encourage more individuals and organisations to participate in future drives.
This year’s commemoration of the World Blood Donor Day in June was observed under the theme; ‘20 years of celebrating giving: Thank you, blood donors!’, which was chosen to reflect on achievements, address challenges and envision a future where safe blood transfusion is universally accessible.
In its statement, the World Health Organization (WHO)-Africa Region director, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti stressed in a statement of the need to raise adequate and sustainable funding in a bid to continue to build systems and capacities to increase blood donation rates and separate donated blood into its components that can be stored for long-term use.
Moeti emphasised that the 20th anniversary was a critical time in encouraging blood donors and building the commitment and willingness to donate blood regularly.
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“I recommend that communities support those who donate blood to encourage others to donate,” she said in the statement. “This has the potential to create an exponential increase in the availability of life-saving donor blood when and where it is needed most.”
Dr. Moeti also encouraged organisations to support capacity building efforts for efficient national blood transfusion services such as that offered by MBTS.
Thus in response to WHO’s plea, Airtel Malawi has come forward to support MBTS’ services as well as two other corporate companies, Old Mutual Malawi and National Bank of Malawi.
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In this month of July saw Old Mutual supported MBTS with K𝟳 million while National Bank of Malawi investing a blood bank refrigerator worth K40 million for Mangochi District Hospital’s blood distribution center.
Old Mutual’s investment was in the spirit of celebrating MBTS’ 70th anniversary and the funds were for the procurement of a tent to be used for mobile outreach blood donation clinics.
On its official Facebook page, Old Mutual’s Human Capital Executive, Rex Kadzongwe is quoted as saying the support demonstrates the company’s commitment to extending a lifeline to those in need and its spirit of generosity in giving back to the community.
He added that the support was in response to the request made by MBTS earlier this year, that the tent should “provide a safe and comfortable space for future blood donation drives, ensuring that blood donors and medical staff have the facilities they need to carry out this important work efficiently”.
And in MBTS’ vote of thanks, acting Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Bridon M’baya thanked Old Mutual for the generous support, emphasising that the tent will not only help reduce operational costs but also improve the blood donation experience.
“In an effort to supply safe and adequate blood and blood products to all patients in need, MBTS conducts a variety of activities in both open and covered spaces,” he is quoted as saying. “The venue for the blood collection activities is set according to the WHO standards which demand comfort and safety for blood donors and members of staff.
“To ensure the comfort and safety of donors and staff in open-ground activities, MBTS hires tents to provide shelter from harsh weather conditions such as rain and excessive sunlight.
“However, hiring tents is costly and not sustainable with the current financial challenges that MBTS faces”, he said.
In addition, Old Mutual in collaboration with MBTS, also organised blood donation drives at Old Mutual Blantyre offices and Gateway Mall in Lilongwe.
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For the investment of the blood bank refrigerator, Dr. M’baya said the opening of the blood distribution center will significantly improve access to safe blood for communities served by Mangochi District Hospital, and other surrounding hospitals such as Monkey Bay Community Hospital, Koche Mission Hospital, St Martins, Mua Mission Hospital and Mulibwanji Mission Hospitals.
He added that the blood bank fridge will act as the storage facility for all the hospitals in the district, saying: “As we are continuously improving our supply of blood in health facilities there are several financial and operational challenges that we are facing which include inadequate blood storage facilities.
“Therefore, with this kind gesture from the corporate organizations we are confident that we will be able to achieve our vision and mission of supplying safe and adequate blood and blood products which will in turn save more lives.”
On their part, National Bank Chief Executive Officer, Harold Jiya said the support was in response to an appeal made by MBTS for financial help to procure blood bank fridges in some districts across the country.
Jiya said the investment is a life-changing commitment the bank made in December, 2023 to donate 2% of its profit after tax to corporate social investments.
“As National Bank, we do set aside 2% of our profit after tax for life-changing initiatives under our corporate social investment program,” he said. “So, we did identify the gap that is there in terms of blood transportation and storage that’s why we decided to come in and help MBTS in saving the lives of those people in need of blood.”
Director for Health and Social Services for Mangochi District, Dr. Henry Chibowa Jnr expressed his gratitude to the bank for the kind gesture, saying the new blood bank will play a significant role in saving more lives of people in need of blood in the district and surrounding areas.
“We have had challenges with blood storage, as we could only manage to store a limited amount of blood and blood products in our blood bank. This has an impact on service delivery during periods when the hospital blood demand is high.
“Therefore, with the coming in of this fridge which is 50 per cent bigger than the fridge that we have, we feel that the problems are going to be alleviated.”
Chibowa further said the blood bank would help to solve the transportation challenges that most hospitals in the district experience to access blood from MBTS’ service center in Balaka.
“To access blood from MBTS, hospitals are required to collect blood from the organisation’s centers which are located in Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Balaka,” he is quoted as saying. “This is challenging for hospitals that are located in remote areas making it difficult for them to access blood from MBTS in good time.
National Bank has also pledged more support to MBTS and said they will soon start helping the organisation in servicing some of its blood banks.
Apart from Mangochi and Mulanje, MBTS has blood distribution centers in Karonga, Kasungu and Nkhotakota district hospitals as well as Ngabu rural hospital in Chikwawa.
Meanwhile, the World Blood Donor Day was globally commemorated on June 14 but MBTS celebrated it on July 17 following the death of Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others in the tragic plane crash on June 10.
In an interview with the media on the World Blood Donor Day, MBTS disclosed that late Chilima was “a dedicated blood donor and a model who was in the forefront of motivating others to donate blood in order to save lives”.
ZBS News quoted the organisation’s marketing & public relations manager, Janet Katonda as saying MBTS hoped Malawians would emulate Chilima’s life so that his legacy lives on.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of Vice-President Dr. Saulos Chilima, who was one of our blood donors,” she had said. “To us, we have lost a donor; we have lost a model — someone who was motivating the youth to come forth to donate blood.”
WHO-Africa Region director, Dr. Moeti took cognizance of the critical role that blood transfusion plays in the provision of life-saving health care to vulnerable people, such as mothers during childbirth, under-nourished and malaria-affected children, victims of trauma & accidents and patients suffering from sickle cell and other chronic diseases.
Every year, the global village celebrates the World Blood Donor Day, which serves to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors, for their life-saving gifts of blood.
WHO maintains that: “A blood service that gives patients access to safe blood and blood products in sufficient quantity is a key component of an effective health system.
“The global theme of World Blood Donor Day changes each year in recognition of the selfless individuals who donate their blood for people unknown to them.
“The 20th anniversary of World Blood Donor Day is an excellent and timely opportunity to thank blood donors across the world for their life-saving donations over the years and honour the profound impact on both patients and donors.
“It is also a timely moment to address continued challenges, and accelerate progress towards a future where safe blood transfusion is universally accessible.
The objectives of the campaign are to:
* thank and recognise the millions of voluntary blood donors who have contributed to the health and well-being of millions of people around the world;
* showcase the achievements and challenges of national blood programmes and share best practices and lessons learned;
* highlight the continuous need for regular, unpaid blood donation to achieve universal access to safe blood transfusion; and
* promote a culture of regular blood donation among young people and the general public and increase the diversity and sustainability of the blood donor pool.
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