90% of countries worldwide report disruptions to essential health services since COVID-19 pandemic – including transfusion care

The World Health Organization (WHO) published a first indicative survey on the impact of COVID-19 on health systems based on 105 countries’ reports. Data collected from March to June 2020 illustrates that almost every country worldwide (90%) experienced disruption to its health services. Countries reported suspensions of many routine and elective services, while critical care–such as cancer screening and treatment–has seen high-risk interruptions in low-income countries. Urgent blood transfusions were disrupted in 23% of countries. Read the full analysis here.

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    Blood & Beyond is a multi-stakeholder initiative funded by CSL, involving experts from the fields of haematology, transfusion medicine, anaesthesiology, patient blood management, nursing, patient advocacy, health economics, and hospital management, with support from policymakers committed to driving improvements in this area. The aim of the initiative is to raise awareness of the importance of good blood health and of the impact of anaemia on patients, healthcare systems and society at large, with the overarching goal to help advance policies and practices that improve patient outcomes by supporting patient-centricity in anaemia prevention, diagnosis, and management through patient blood management (PBM) and innovation.

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