Blood means life. But in Nigeria, access to safe blood is limited.
Speaking on the 2012 World Blood Donor day, the Nigerian Minister of Health said, “In Nigeria, we are currently faced with a situation, whereby 60 per cent of all blood donations are from commercial donors, 30 per cent from family replacement and only 10 per cent are from voluntary donors.”
To save lives and mark the 2013 World Blood Donor Day, One Percent Project with a set of brilliant programmers, software developers and media professionals, have committed three days to building an app that makes it easier to give and receive blood in Nigeria. The hackathon, tagged #Hack4Health, will culminate in an event on Sunday, June 16, 2013, where the general public and the press will be asked to attend the unveiling of the app.
Only about 54% of the blood needed in Lagos is collected and only 10% is collected from volunteer blood donors.
According to Oo Nwoye, the hackathon coordinator, “Access to safe blood in Nigeria needs urgent attention, and we are using web and mobile technology to facilitate this, while raising societal awareness of the benefits of donating.”
About 10% of all HIV cases are caused by unsafe blood transfusion.
According to Temie Giwa, Director, One Percent Project, “We think it’s important to make it very easy for people to give blood, and this hack will build an app that would do just that.”
Blood from 100% voluntary donors — people who donate blood for free — can save thousands. But Nigerians hardly donate blood voluntarily. One pint of blood donated can save three lives.
This event is supported by dozens of Nigerian techies and health activists, volunteering their skills and time to make this work. It is also supported by the kind hearted participation and charity of the CcHub, Audax Solutions, and Hellofood.
The following is the schedule of events:
The Hackathon
Date: Friday, June 14, 2013 to Sunday, June 16, 2013
Time: 9am – 5pm
Venue: Co-Creation Hub, 294 Herbert Macaulay Rd, Lagos, Nigeria
The Public Presentation of LifeBank, a blood donation app
Date: Sunday, June 16, 2013
Time: 4pm – 6pm
Venue: Audax Solutions. Plot 24, Block 113, Adebisi Ogunniyi Crescent Lekki Phase 1, Lekki
To register, visit here
Invited Guests
Bloggers, print and television media personnel, social media practitioners, and everyone interested in health/blood donation and technology.
About One Percent Project
One Percent Project is determined to reduce maternal and child mortality by improving the supply of safe and accessible blood in Nigeria. We aim to help Nigeria reach 100% volunteer blood supply by 2020.
Since we launched in May 2012, we have planned and implemented three blood drives in two universities in Nigeria, launched a map of all blood donation centers, and introduced a blood donor database with hundreds of Nigerians who pledged to become blood donors. So far, we have collected 754 pints of blood, enough to save about 2,262 lives.
Our goal is to build an organization that makes it convenient for one percent of Nigerians to routinely donate blood.
