Blood for Nat’l Unity Campaign to Start this Month

Addis Ababa June 15/2019 A domestic tourism campaign aimed at solidifying national unity through blood donation will be launched this month, according to Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The blood donation is part of the voluntary service program to be conducted this rainy season.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Culture and Tourism State Minister Buzena Alkadir said the tourism sector has to play critical role in bringing about stability and unity in the country.

“We Ethiopians have same blood and our ancestors lived in harmony, respecting one another and accommodating differences. So, we have to respect those values and strengthen unity among the Ethiopian people,” she stressed.

The domestic tourism campaign will accordingly be carried out to create awareness among the public that Ethiopians, though diverse, have same blood and should strive for national unity.

The campaign will cover all parts of the country, Buzena stated.

“For instance, Addis Ababa may donate blood to Oromia, Oromia to Amhara, and Amhara to Oromia. Because persons who live in Amhara, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples regional states and Addis Ababa are same and one. Peoples of all nations are one, despite the administrative boundaries among them,” she underscored.

Influential figures, including religious fathers and prominent persons, among others, will be engaged in the national unity blood mobilization campaign.

National Blood Bank (NBB) Public Relations Office said the campaign is special, simply because it has two major targets: saving lives and strengthening unity by sharing the blood of one another.

This target will be achieved by working in an integrated and collaborative manner with all stakeholders, it added.

The campaign will be conducted in collaboration with Ministry of Health and National Blood Bank of Ethiopia.