Africell beefs up communication at Uganda Blood Transfusion Services amid COVID-19 pandemic
Dr Dorothy Nakyeyune UBTS ED receives Donation from Africell PRO Edgar Karamagi. (COURTESY PHOTO)
Kampala – Telecommunication company, Africell Uganda, furnished Uganda Blood Transfusion Services (UBTS) with a communication package to aid their activities against COVID-19.
As part of its initiatives in the fight against COVID-19, the telecom company donated a comprehensive communication solution to UBTS to facilitate key staff and facilities to communicate freely subsequent to a lockdown that restricted movement complicating operations most notably the collection of blood
As a critical national health agency with a vital role during public health emergencies, UBTS collects and stores blood using the latest medical technology and acts to replenish hospital supplies in times of crisis.
Edgar Karamagi, the Africell Spokesperson, revealed that the comprehensive communication solution comprised 3 toll-free lines, 5 phones loaded with 700 minutes of talk-time plus 5GBs each and routers loaded with data to guarantee connectivity at the Blood Bank is accessible in this time
‘We are pleased to stand with our community at this time of collective uncertainty by offering a complete communication package that will enable people to reach out freely to the Uganda Blood Transfusion Services,” Karamagi said.
He added: “Blood availability is a vital aspect of any public health response and is required to save lives. Africell’s mission is to connect communities and the partnership we are announcing today enhances our community’s ability to access the blood bank at all times.”
Africell also pledged to support Uganda Blood Transfusion Services with the promotion of their services using Africell’s extensive digital advertising footprint and the campaigns directed by the telecom’s marketing and communications experts to maximize impact.
Michael Mukundane, Public Relations Officer of UBTS, welcomed the partnership and emphasized the existing urgent need for fresh blood for among others, severely anaemic patients.
‘We currently have an urgent need for fresh blood from voluntary donors for, among others, severely anaemic patients that include mothers, accident victims, children, sickle cell and cancer patients,” Mukundane stressed
“Our daily need for Nakasero region alone is 300 safe units of blood, but at present we are only able to issue 200 units. There is an urgent need for fresh blood to prepare blood components especially platelets for cancer patients. Platelets have a shelf life of 5 days and are prepared from fresh blood collected within 6 hours,” Mukundane pointed out.
Mukundane praised Africell for enhancing their communication as an enabler for the call for continuous blood donation and encouraged the public to donate.
“We encourage all volunteer donors to reach us on our toll free lines as follows 0795109595, 0795109080, 0795108508, 0800122422 and 0414257155. Upon reaching us through these lines we will assess their viability and advise on how they can reach us or in some cases, we can reach them,” Mukundane said.
Africell further disclosed that they were working with UBTS’s partners Blood 4 Uganda, an initiative of the Indian Association of Uganda, that prides itself in closing the gap between blood donors, patients and health centers and blood banks in Uganda.
for over 6 years, Blood 4 Uganda has been able to collect over 25000 units of blood and also to establish a standby team of donors who can be called upon to donate as and when needed.
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