Publications

The African Region, which is one of the six regions of WHO, covers 47 countries and is populated by approximately 1 190 393 328 inhabitants as of 2022 (1). The countries of the Region face a heavy burden of infectious diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis, in addition to a high ratio of maternal and infant mortality, as well as mortality due to anaemia mainly resulting from malaria, malnutrition, noncommunicable diseases (NCD) and road traffic accidents (2–6). Blood transfusion plays an essential role in the provision of health care for these diseases, particularly among vulnerable people such as women suffering from postpartum haemorrhage, under-nourished and malaria-affected children, victims of trauma and accidents and patients suffering from sickle-cell and other chronic diseases. When these products are not available and accessible in a timely manner, the condition of patients can be life-threatening and result in death. However, most patients requiring transfusion do not have timely access to safe blood and blood components in the African Region.