Minister of Health
By Buba Gagigo
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has said that health facilities in The Gambia have blood bags contrary to social media reports claiming shortage of the items.
“The Ministry of Health would like to inform the public that adequate stock of blood bags are currently available at the Central Medical Stores in Kotu which are distributed to the various health facilities through the Logistic Management System which is efficient and reliable. The health facilities are usually supplied upon requisition and that has been adhered to over the period. The Logistic Management System detects adequacies or shortages and ensures equitable distribution of supplies in health facilities,” MoH said in a statement on Saturday.
The statement said that the Ministry of Health has 11 Blood Transfusion centres in which Blood Transfusion Services are provided.
“These centres provide an opportunity for the public to voluntarily donate blood to people that require the services. These centres include EFSTH, Kanifing Hospital, Bundung Maternal Hospital, Brikama District Hospital, Bwiam General Hospital, Soma District Hospital, Bansang General Hospital, Basse District Hospital, Farafenni General Hospital and Essau District Hospital. In addition, Sukuta Minor Health Centre serves as a blood collection centre for onward transmission to the nearest blood transfusion centre,” the statement added.
It assured the public of its efforts to ensure uninterrupted blood transfusion services including the availability of blood bags in all blood transfusion centres in the country.
“Thus, the Ministry would like to clarify that blood bags are available in health facilities and the public is encouraged to donate blood. In order to avoid misinformation and rumors regarding the services provided by the Ministry of Health, it will be appreciated if all media houses seek for information and clarification before publishing unverified information,” the statement concluded.
The ministry’s dispatch followed reports on social media recently indicating the lack of blood bags at health facilities across the country.
However, this medium could not confirm the availability of adequate blood bags at the mentioned centres, at the time of publication.