AIHA Launches New Blood Safety Project in Asia
Kathryn Utan
Technical Assistance Project Will Strengthen National Blood Services in Target Countries in Support of PEPFAR Goals for the Asia Region
WASHINGTON, DC, February 7, 2013 — The American International Health Alliance (AIHA) is pleased to announce the launch of a new project designed to improve access to a safe supply of blood in selected countries in Asia and Eurasia. The five-year technical assistance project is supported through a cooperative agreement with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with funding from the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
In year one, AIHA will focus on providing technical guidance, clinical training and mentoring, and expert advice to enhance blood safety and improved transfusion practices in Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Ukraine. These countries currently face a broad range of challenges meeting or maintaining acceptable standards for blood safety. In addition, communicable diseases are spreading rapidly in these nations, with four overlapping epidemics — drug use, HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and TB — growing at worrisome rates, according to WHO and UNAIDS reports.
Working closely with each country’s Ministry of Health and blood transfusion services, AIHA’s team of international blood safety experts will support the establishment of national systems based on WHO guidelines for the development of appropriate blood donor recruitment and screening systems, including effective strategies for attracting non-remunerated blood donors. The team will also work with national stakeholders to develop and implement evidence-based blood utilization guidelines and to strengthen laboratory systems to support the quality, safety, and adequacy of national blood supplies.
With support from PEPFAR and CDC, the technical assistance provided through this project will support national efforts to scale up well-coordinated national blood transfusion services, combat the spread of HIV and other infectious diseases through blood transfusion, improve the availability of and access to national blood supplies, and build local capacity to sustain these services in the future.
For more information, please contact:
Kate Schecter, Senior Program Officer
AIHA/Washington, DC
Tel. +1.202.719.1135
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Kathryn M. Utan
Communications Manager
American International Health Alliance
1250 Eye Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20005
Tel. 202.719.1152
Fax 202.789.0519