Trends and Gaps in National Blood Transfusion Services — 14 Sub-Saharan African Countries, 2014–2016

Ensuring availability of safe blood products through recruitment of voluntary, nonremunerated, blood donors (VNRDs) and prevention of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and syphilis, is important for public health (1,2). During 2004–2016, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) provided approximately $468 million in financial support and technical assistance to 14 sub-Saharan African countries with high HIV prevalence to strengthen national blood transfusion services (NBTSs) and improve blood safety and availability. CDC analyzed these countries’ 2014–2016 blood safety surveillance data to update previous reports (1,2) and summarize achievements and programmatic gaps as some NBTSs begin to transition funding and technical support from PEPFAR to local ministries of health (MOHs) (2,3). Despite a 60% increase in blood supply since 2004 and steady declines in HIV prevalence (to <1% among blood donors in seven of the 14 countries), HIV prevalence among blood donors still remains higher than that recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) (4). PEPFAR support has contributed to significant reductions in HIV prevalence among blood donors in the majority of PEPFAR-supported countries, and linking donors who screen HIV-positive to confirmatory testing and indicated treatment, as well as further reducing TTIs, remains a public health priority (5).