21 May 2018

Ministry of Health and Wellness deputy permanent secretary, Dr Morrison Simvula has commended Pledge 25 Club for their cycling tour organised to raise awareness on the importance of blood donation.

Giving a keynote address in a meet and greet event in Gaborone recently, Dr Simvula said Botswana with about 2.2 million people needed approximately 40 000 units of blood annually to take care of any eventuality that might need blood.

He said the Pledge 25 club’s target to help raise and collect 2 000 units in their cycle tour would add value to the national blood requirements.

“Your 2 000 units will go a long way in saving lives, this is a great initiative that you should be applauded for,” he said.

Dr Simvula further called on all stakeholders and the public to support the Pledge 25 initiative achieve their targeted goal.

“Most of our deaths are caused simply because one is bleeding and we can’t give them blood quickly. We all have to support these young people as transfusion of blood has proven that it saves millions of lives every year,” he said.

He encouraged club members to stay fit in order to continually donate blood.

“Be fit, exercise, we need your blood, so keep it clean,” he said.

He said this year’s World Blood Day, which would be celebrated on June 14 in Mahalapye, was an annual event that intended to appreciate blood donors as well as create blood donation awareness.

“The theme for this year is: Be there for someone else, a selfless call for everyone to donate blood and save lives. We also strongly encourage people all over the country to voluntarily and regularly donate blood,” he added.

For his part, University of Botswana student affairs deputy vice chancellor, Professor Martin Mokgwathi said the university was delighted to host the Pledge 25 team of cyclists into their gym as they prepared to embark on a tour to save lives.

“It is my sincere hope that our facilities and the fitness experts we have here in the university will assist the cycling team to prepare physically for the tour,” he said.

Professor Mokgwathi further said contrary to popular belief, UB contributed a lot of blood to the national blood bank.

“Our students donate a lot of usable blood to the national blood transfusion centre,” he said.

The cycling tour is scheduled to start June 1 with an official launch in Gaborone, and the cyclists are expected to make stop overs along villages on the way, raising awareness on the importance of donating blood and creating platforms for residents in those villages to donate blood.

The team is expected to reach Mahalapye on World Blood Day. Pledge 25 Club is a non-governmental organisation that promotes the value of donating blood to save lives.

Through the organisation, young blood donors commit to donate blood at least 25 times in their life time, and also to lead positive and healthy lifestyles in order to continually donate blood. ENDS