A good reason to donate blood

A non-profit organisation, Centre for Family Health Initiative (CFHI) has made a case for blood donation, explaining that despite some previous campaigns, there is not enough blood at the ready to save people in emergency.


The group was speaking in Kubwa, a suburb of the FCT, during an advocacy outing to mark the 2016 International Day for Families.

CFHI urged families not just to donate blood but also consult their doctors regularly, go for eye screening, blood and HIV tests, among others.

The group said the drive was to sensitise families on the need for voluntary blood donations and other health needs.

Director of CFHI Princess Osita-Oleribe, “We believe that if we can re-write the wrongs within the families, then we will be ready to make a healthy society and we will have less of the issues bedeviling our society, our hope is that it will transition to the re-ignition of the love and support the family can offer to individuals. It turns out that this is not a very popular day even though the UN assembly declared this day since 1993 but not many Nigerians are not aware of this day.


“We reached out to several families and their was a lot of excitement from them, it was almost imperative that the centre for family health will be interested in the health of families, we tried to do a family health rally and talk about health issues that affect everyone, beside that people have a lot of phobia for blood but we believe that if blood is readily available many family members will not continue to die anyhow.”

A member of CFHI board, Obinna Oleribe added, “We tried to bring families together to try to make them relax and have a little fun and just be a family. Family health is universal, it affects everything. The blood donations will help us raise some pints of blood that will help save some families and give them peace; the HIV screening will make people aware of their status and other talks on how families can live healthy despite the level of hardship in the society. We want to give families the tools and capacity they need to live a healthy lifestyle.”

-Abuja Review