Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Namibian Blood Transfusion Service (NamBTS) has embarked on an awareness campaign to improve blood donations in the country with the hope of alleviating the shortage.
In 2016, NamBTS started with a peer promoter programme for secondary schools across the country. Titus Shivute, Supervisor: Donor Recruitment and Public Relations, said the last campaign was held in 2020 at all the secondary schools that host blood donation clinics.
Shivute was speaking during an engagement with learners of Mweshipandeka Secondary School on Thursday, saying that they aim to revive the programme after it was put on hold due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2015, NamBTS carried out a pilot programme for learners at A. Shipena Secondary School in Windhoek, to raise awareness and increase the number of blood donations made at the school.
At the time, 89 donations were made of which 38 were first-time blood donors. Shivute said they expect to visit 200 schools by the end of the peer promoter awareness campaign.
NamBTS last week concluded the programme in Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. They are currently visiting schools in the northern areas and will be heading to the Khomas Region for their next peer promoter programme.
Those in attendance said that nervousness, discouragement by peers and needs to be rewarded are some of the challenges faced regarding blood donation at many of the schools.
A grade 12 learner from Mwadikange Kaulinge Secondary School, Moses Josua, said the best way to get learners to donate blood is to encourage them and inform them about the importance of saving lives through blood donation.
Peer promoters are selected by the school to be blood donation ambassadors by assisting with clinic set-ups and ensuring that the clinics are well-attended by the learners.
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