As the global community observes World Blood Donor Day this week, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and First Lady Zinash Tayachew donated blood in commemoration of the day for 16th time in Ethiopia.
Prime Minister Abiy called upon all Ethiopians to engage in this voluntary, life-saving gift of blood that will save many lives.
This year, World Blood Donor Day will once again be celebrated around the world on 14 June.
The event serves to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood and also to raise awareness of the need for regular blood donations to ensure that all individuals and communities have access to affordable and timely supplies of safe and quality-assured blood and blood products, as an integral part of universal health coverage and a key component of effective health systems.
The host country for World Blood Donor Day 2019 is Rwanda.