“We use the term ‘positive infection’ in the mental health department,” he says. “In our sessions in the hospital, we discuss how to make positive ideas viral with doctors, nurses, paramedics, but also with housekeepers, watchmen, and logistics staff. Because a doctor alone can’t do what we all together can achieve.”
Blood donations saving lives
Another impactful and life-saving activity that was running once a month in Abiy Adi town was a series of blood donation campaigns done in collaboration with Axum Blood Bank.
Tigray, like most of Ethiopia, is experiencing a shortage in blood reserves caused by diverse interlinked factors. Up to 50 per cent of blood is collected in schools and colleges. In conflict-affected areas, schools are closed, reducing the main source of blood collection. The conflict also left healthcare facilities barely functional, making the collection, processing, and distribution of blood more difficult.
At the same time, due to the destruction of health facilities, women who are about to deliver often arrive at hospitals quite late, increasing the possibility of complications that require blood transfusions.
Another factor contributing to the exhaustion of reserves and to the high demands of blood is the unprecedented rate of malaria. Between January and June 2024, over three million people contracted malaria throughout the country, which is almost the total of all cases for 2023, according to the Ethiopian Health Cluster.
To raise awareness and increase participation in blood donation, MSF set up a storytelling school club with the youth and community leaders of Abiy Adi. The narrations of the community’s positive experiences helped to break stigma and taboos about blood donation and encouraged people to participate in the campaigns. Their joint efforts mobilised people to donate 517 units of blood, which saved around 525 lives.
Fonte original msf.org
