By Hassan Hussain
The World Health Organisation has unveiled the slogan for the 2026 World Blood Donor Day campaign as “One Drop of Humanity. Give Blood. Save Lives.”
In a statement addressing stakeholders and partners in the blood transfusion sector, the Director-General of the National Blood Service Agency, Professor Saleh Yuguda, revealed the slogan while urging Nigerians to embrace voluntary blood donation as a civic and humanitarian responsibility.
Professor Yuguda said the campaign is aimed at strengthening global efforts towards ensuring a safe, sustainable, and adequate blood supply through regular voluntary and unpaid donations.
“The campaign would also celebrate the invaluable contributions of blood donors while promoting the values of solidarity, compassion and humanity that underpin blood donation.”
— Professor Saleh Yuguda, Director-General, NBSA
According to the statement, the 2026 campaign seeks to promote sustained growth in voluntary blood donation worldwide and raise awareness of the life-saving impact of blood and plasma donation.
He stressed the need for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders to strengthen investments in national blood programmes to guarantee universal access to safe blood transfusion services.
Professor Yuguda explained that a major focus of this year’s commemoration would be community integration and grassroots engagement, with advocacy activities extending beyond health institutions to communities across the country.
He said traditional rulers, community leaders, youth groups, faith-based organisations, and other local stakeholders would be actively involved in promoting voluntary blood donation and fostering community ownership of blood services.
The NBSA boss added that the community-based approach is expected to deepen public understanding of blood donation, address misconceptions, and build sustainable donor pools capable of meeting the nation’s blood requirements.
World Blood Donor Day is observed annually on 14 June to recognise the contributions of voluntary blood donors and advocate stronger blood systems capable of meeting the transfusion needs of patients in emergencies, maternal healthcare, surgeries, and other medical conditions.
The statement maintained that the 2026 campaign is expected to mobilise governments, healthcare institutions, civil society organisations, and citizens across the world to embrace blood donation as a life-saving humanitarian act.
