The Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng has allayed fears on the absence of blood in government hospitals.
Her statement was prompted by Speaker Anita Among who conveyed public outcry on allegations of blood shortage in the country. Among demanded that the minister updates the House on the status of and supply of blood in the blood banks.
During a plenary sitting on Thursday, Health Minister Aceng said that despite the challenges of collecting sufficient blood, there is still blood in the blood banks.
“We continue to have challenges of collecting enough blood. We need over 400,000 units of blood on an annual basis but the highest we have collected is 300,000 units,” Aceng said.
She said that currently, the country has 6,284 units of blood.
“There are areas which may go under stress very soon and Nakasero will be able to redistribute and they are currently collecting more blood,” she said.
According to Minister Aceng, Nakasero Hospital currently has 2,400 units of blood, while Masaka has 535 units, Mbarara (390), Hoima (200), Jinja (150), Mbale (400), Gulu (250), Mengo (100), Lira (300), Soroti (300), Arua (200), Nebbi (50), Kabale (270), Rukungiri (172), Fort Portal (317) and Kitovu (350).