Universal Blood Donor Development Program (UNIBLOOD)

The overall purpose of this project is to leverage the passion and experience of structures in the community that coordinate large-scale events like religious crusades and other rallies to equitably enlist community ownership of blood donation drives and similar campaigns. It will institute a sustainable mechanism that facilitates rapid and cost effective organization (plan, implement, and review) of health campaigns in the Nigerian country side. One major reason health campaigns do not realize their potential impact is inadequate ownership of the process by indigenous communities.

The initiative will galvanize stable community structures under the auspices of Ward Development Committees (WADCs) to drive health campaigns in their neighborhoods. Leaders, entrepreneurs, and diverse experts across age brackets in the community will innovatively transform an existing platform into a collaborative lab that triggers the desired magnet effect between campaign-based delivery and routine health systems. It will not only enhance demand and extend the reach of supplemental health services but also enable communities further take responsibility for improving efficiency of campaign resources.

By creatively leveraging Ward Development Committees (WDCs) to organize blood donation drives, this approach capacitates persons with unequivocal allegiance and continuous stake in the development of the community to take responsibility of championing health campaigns. Experience from other sectors (such as drug revolving funds and water sanitation) has also proved that when Ward Development Committees (WADCs) are appropriately empowered they can be very effective organizing relevant sustainable development initiatives to improve the quality of life in their communities. This bolsters confidence in the efficacy of this approach.

Ward Development Committees (WDCs) are structures recognized by the Nigerian national health policy as an integral part of the public health system at the primary level. Usually the head of the PHC serves as the secretary of the committee while a prominent resident of the community is the chairman. Within a period of 10 months of starting the project, the capacity of all 14 Ward Development Committees (WDCs) in Aniocha North local government area (LGA) of Delta State will be built to use local data to organize (plan, implement, and evaluate) blood donation campaigns according to national policy guidelines in their catchment areas.

We are applying for assistance because we strongly believe lack of a coordinated blood donation program in rural area of a developing nation like Nigeria is detrimental to health. Moreover availability of immediate blood supply will mitigate infant mortality. With your financial support, we anticipate that outputs and demonstrable outcomes would be presented as scalable solutions to certain challenges that reduce effectiveness of health campaigns.

As already stated, the project will develop and test an innovative curriculum to build skills of members of WDCs in planning and micro-planning, implementation, and monitoring of health campaigns with particular emphasis on blood donor mobilization and motivation based entirely on voluntary non remunerative donation of blood.

With activation of Ward Development Committees, structured and mobilized for efficient blood collection, lives will definitely be saved as proximal hospitals and medical facilities will have access to blood at any emergency. Scarcity and want will never be a companion to them.

Our impact goals also includes:

a. Acting as first responders on blood hunt and Rhesus challenges with a view to ameliorating transfusion crises. This we have achieved all along, through networking, effective social media blitz, public advocacies (road walks, seminars, symposia and workshops), blood testing / bleeding.

b. Combatting blood racketeering which occurs in blood banks / laboratories. Effective collaboration, through partnership with Health establishment guarantee success.

Findings, outputs and demonstrable solutions from the final evaluation would be disseminated as scalable solutions to certain challenges that reduce effectiveness of health campaigns. The Project will seek funding to expand and scale activities to an additional 150 wards spread across the other 24 local government area of Delta State.

Our performance indicators are practical: Various public outings over the last couple of years have revealed gradual but steady waning of apathy within the locals. Right in the hinterlands where we hold sway, the ancient myths surrounding blood donation are fizzling out.

Result-oriented synergy has been UNIBLOOD’s hallmark: Over the years, we have had active engagements with Health establishments, including the State Agency for Primary Healthcare, Ministry of Health, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, the Police and the Para-military etc. The foregoing portends much greater dividends as our partnerships expand.

  Simply, we hope that database of willing pool of blood donors in the community will enhance availability of blood at times of emergency and mitigate loss of lives.

The core technology that powers our solution is human resources and determinism to succeed. The WDC paradigm is an access to blood donation campaigns. It does enlist support for all key stakeholders and encourages development within communities.

Our technology is broad-based: To begin with, we leverage highly on the Social media for speedy and effective communication. And for much better rural impact, this NGO is headquartered in the Palace of the President / Founder, from where the local communities are easily accessed through Town hall arrangements at minimum notice.

  Members of our volunteer force are young, dynamic and internet savvy. Thankfully, a great number of the target group now own Android phones

Database of community members are collected by Ward Development Committees (WDCs) and shared with Delta State Ministry of Health in Nigeria.

As already stated, Database of community members with skill to effectively mobilize and coordinate health campaigns are solicited and stored.

Also Database of willing pool of blood donors in the community are also solicited and shared with Government Health professionals, making sure these individuals are available when needed.

Also our partnership with the Pediatrics Department of Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria has provided the solution. We collaborate in testing, collating, segmenting (the Rhesus groups) and documenting same.           Essential benefits include easy identification of blood groups / donors and eventual ease of transfusion.

Diversity and inclusiveness is our modus operandi. Though tribes and tongue may differ, in brother/sisterhood we operate.

Our business model is simple. We develop curricula. test and produce training as needed. Conduct training of Ward Development Committees (WDCs) as needed.Our beneficiary segments within the local Government Area (LGA) of Delta State of Nigeria. In terms of social and customer values, we ensure that we have laid out a compelling rationale that will earn confidence in our customers to donate blood- a life saving commodity. The social impact is to trust the process and be willing to donate blood recognizing the vitality of the process. Since we are a non profit entity, we plan to reinvest any surplus money (if any) to expand the process nationwide in particular and Africa-wide in general.

We aggressively solicit for donations, sometimes in partnership with local organizations or state entities. In addition, as a non profit entity, and no shareholders, the profit from related social enterprise are completely re-invested in the work of the organization. As non profit in obeisance to the social enterprise business model, we operate where business principles and values co-exist and work with traditional public sector values like responsiveness to community and serving the public interest. This is essential to the success of a social enterprise and is an effective business model.

Our Budget Breakdown in anticipation of financial support by category will be as follows:

Personnel.......................$75,135.00

Travel and per diem..........$34,890.00

Other direct cost/Supplies.....$47,952.00

Equipment.......................$32,300.00

Subcontracts.....................$9,553.00

TOTAL...........................$199,830.00