The National Blood Service (NBS) on the 13th and 14th of March 2024 held its 11th Annual Performance Review (APR) at the J.K. Acquaye Conference Room at its Headquarters.
The two-day event which is marked annually seeks to discuss and evaluate the overall performance of the NBS, plan and develop actions to improving services in the ensuing year, 2024. The theme for the year, 2023 was “Give Blood, Give Plasma, Share Life, Share often”.
The event which saw distinguished invited guests from the Ministry of Health, Heads of the Zonal Blood Centres across the country, the National Blood Donors Association of Ghana, Red Cross Society, Food and Drugs Authority, Staff of the National Blood Service and the Press. The Minister of Health was represented by Dr. Adam Hafez Taher-Director for External Health Cooperation. The Board Chairman of the National Blood Service; Mr. Robert Vasco Sarpong as well as other members of the Board were also in attendance.
Dr. Adam Hafez Taher, in his address, rehashed the obvious fact that, demand and supply for blood and blood products has been “a David and Goliath kind of affair” within the health circles especially in Ghana. He pointed out that; Ghana just like many Sub-Sharan nations is yet to recover from the dire consequences of the pandemic. He therefore urged the public, to move away from family replacement donations to becoming voluntary blood donors as this is the safest way of ensuring blood availability at all times. He made a clarion call on individuals, religious bodies and cooperate institutions to accept voluntary blood donation as a duty to the society.
To him, achieving 100% voluntary blood donation and ensuring regular supply of blood and blood products remained a process and never an event. Whereas other developed countries may have achieved it, he noted the need to encourage ourselves and provide all the necessary support to achieving this goal. He also admitted that the NBS just like all public institutions, is faced with both financial, logistical and human resource challenges.
He however pledged the unwavering support of the MOH in addressing these challenges as well as helping the NBS achieve its 5-year strategic plan.
In her welcoming address, the Chief Executive Officer of the NBS, Dr. Shirley Owusu-Ofori stressed on the significance of the event, which affords the Service an opportunity to reflect on the previous year and collectively put efforts together in surmounting challenges faced whilst making inroads to achieving targets. She urged all present to actively participate during discussions and provide constructive criticisms to address the intricate challenges of the Service. The CEO also acknowledged the myriad contributions the Ministry as well as the Board and other stakeholders played in making the goals of the organization achievable.
Dr. Owusu-Ofori presented an overview of the NBS performance for 2023 detailing key performance indicators, activities, challenges, and management strategies. She disclosed that the total collections for the 2023 year were 182,696 units which was 99.7% of the 2023 target as against the 2022 collections which was about 179,764 units.
The APR received presentations from Dr. Zakiya Abdul Mumin, Dr. Lesley Osei Oppong and Dr. Dilys John-Teye Heads of the three (3) Zonal Blood Centres (Northern, Central and Southern) respectively. There were other presentations by Dr. Lucy Asamoah-Akuoko, Head of Research, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation also presented on their performance and some collaborative works the Service had carried out during the period.
The highlight of this years’ APR, was the Dissemination of the Revised National Blood Policy. The experts who steered affairs and led the dissemination were Mr. Benjamin Nyakutsey, Head of Policy Coordination Unit MOH and Mr. Prince Ernest Asante, Head of Administration and Support Services-NBS.
The CEO in her closing remarks, took pains to emphasize the need for the establishment of blood centres across the length and breadth of the country. This position is in compliance with the NBS Act,2022 (Act 1042) provisions of which is expected for centres to be set up across all the regions. Such centres will ensure adequate numbers are collected and ultimately blood units made more accessible to patients. She noted, it was the goal of the Service to have about ten (10) in every thousand (1000) donations from voluntary blood donations and having blood centres across the sixteen (16) regions was one of the sustainable ways to achieving this set target.
The National Blood Service would like to take this opportunity to extend its gratitude to all participants who made it to the APR especially the Dr. Adam Hafez Taher (representative of the Minister for Health), the Board Chairman of the NBS Mr. Robert Vasco Sarpong, NBS Board members present, stakeholders of the Blood Service and the media who covered the event.