June 14th is observed worldwide as the World Blood Donor Day, the international day of humanity expressed through voluntary blood donation. On this date, the activities promoting blood donation are being conducted all over the world, with the scope of showing importance of stockpiling blood through raising public awareness.
Partnerships in Health, in collaboration with the Public Health Institute of the Sarajevo Canton, youth NGO Y-Peer, and Democratic Centre Nove Nade from Bihać, is organizing a two-day observation of this important date by setting up info stands in Sarajevo, Bihać and Ilidža. The financial support for the observance of this day is secured by the UNDP BiH and the Global Fund program in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At the info stands, the citizens will have the opportunity to obtain educational and promotional materials about the importance of donating blood, blood donation locations, locations of testing centers for HIV, Hepatitis B and C, as well as educational information regarding the populations at risk.
Currently, the world’s focus is directed towards the developing countries, where the level of blood donation is still very low (less than 10 donors per 1000 inhabitants). Therefore, the goal of this year’s World Blood Donor Day is to raise awareness in order to improve the amount of blood supplies and bring it to the level reached in the developed countries.
This year’s theme of the World Blood Donor Day is “Every provider of blood is a hero”, which suggests that every individual can become a hero by simply donating blood, thus saving someone’s life.
With these activities Partnerships in Health confirms its commitment to the health of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina and continues with the efforts to improve the health status and the health system in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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