Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has asked Kenyans to forfeit flowers for a special gift this Valentine’s.
Speaking during a blood donation campaign drive, the CS urged Kenyans to donate blood saying a blood donation certificate is better than flowers.
“If there is a gift that would be a fantastic gift to give to Kenyans on Valentine’s day; it would be blood,” Kagwe said.
He said if is someone offered flowers on Valentine’s, the recipient should also ask for a blood donation certificate.
”If asked to choose between flowers or receiving a blood donation certificate, forfeit the flowers.,’ he advised.
Kagwe noted that 98 percent of Kenyans can donate blood comfortably and operate normally adding that doctors recommend regularly donating blood.
At the same time, the CS lauded the leadership of the National Blood Service parastatal led by Dr. Nduku. Kagwe said he has noted the significant improvements the parastatal has made after Dr. Nduku took over.
“Some of the challenges the parastatal was facing would be comical if not so tragic because we hear Kenyan blood banks have been servicing places like Mogadishu because the previous management overlooked loopholes tainting our image,” he said.
According to CS Kagwe, blood donation is a vital part of the Universal Health Care. He said the ministry had recommended several measures to boost Kenya’s blood bank including predicating transparency and efficiency in ICT to track blood from the donor to the recipient and introduction of blood policy as a bill in Parliament.
The CS said the ministry will also start training and staffing personnel and move National blood services from a parastatal in the Ministry of Health to an independent institution.
