KAMPALA – The Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) has launched a nationwide blood donation drive targeting 3,000 units of blood across its 15 operational territories as part of its Customer Experience Month activities.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The initiative, held under the theme “The Extra Mile,” brings together UEDCL, the Uganda Blood Transfusion Service, and the Uganda Red Cross Society in a joint effort to strengthen the country’s blood supply and support patients who depend on transfusions to survive.
Speaking at the launch, Eng. Joselyn Rwakakooko Rwabwogo, the UEDCL Managing Director, said the campaign reflects the company’s belief that customer service extends beyond providing reliable electricity to making a meaningful difference in the lives of the communities it serves.
The Managing Director noted that while UEDCL continues to focus on improving electricity distribution, it also recognises its broader social responsibility to promote health and save lives.
The blood donation drive is being coordinated by UEDCL’s Customer Experience and Corporate Affairs teams, working with territory managers to mobilise staff, customers, and other community members across the company’s 15 territories.
Eng. Rwabwogo commended the teams involved in organising the campaign and encouraged all eligible employees and customers to participate, while mobilising friends, relatives, and other members of the public to donate blood.
She also reaffirmed UEDCL’s commitment to improving electricity supply through distribution network strengthening, substation upgrades, refurbishment of distribution lines, and improvements in response times.
Representing the Uganda Blood Transfusion Service Executive Director, William Mugisha, the Principal Blood Donor Officer, commended UEDCL and other partners for supporting efforts to ensure the availability of blood for patients in need.
He reported that annual blood collection had increased from 460,000 to approximately 475,000 units, highlighting the contribution of partnerships and voluntary donors to the country’s blood supply.
Mugisha called for sustained public participation to ensure that blood remains available for medical emergencies, surgery, childbirth complications, and patients with blood disorders.
“We now collect about 475,000 units of blood every year, up from 460,000 units. This is because of our partners and voluntary donors. We ask the public to keep donating blood so that it is always available for emergencies, surgery, mothers during childbirth, and patients with blood diseases,” Mugisha noted.
Mugisha also urged religious institutions, cultural leaders, Members of Parliament, corporate organisations, and other community stakeholders to make blood donation a shared civic responsibility.
He emphasised that the need for blood cannot be eliminated entirely, even with improvements in healthcare and preventive services, making regular donations essential to sustaining transfusion services.
Uganda Red Cross Society Secretary General Robert Kwesiga, emphasising the vital need for collective action, similarly called for stronger partnerships and continuous community mobilisation to maintain a reliable, year-round blood supply.
Kwesiga explained that donation campaigns must be sustained year-round, not treated as isolated events, noting that bringing activities closer to workplaces, schools, religious institutions, and other community settings broadens participation and strengthens collection.
He commended UEDCL for extending its corporate social responsibility to a life-saving cause and expressed the Uganda Red Cross Society’s commitment to continued collaboration with the company and other partners.
Evas Bwzirakakye, the Head of Customer Experience at UEDCL, called on eligible Ugandans to embrace voluntary blood donation and encourage others to participate, noting that a single donation can help save lives.
The campaign forms part of UEDCL’s October Customer Experience Month, through which the company seeks to go beyond its core electricity distribution mandate and demonstrate care for the well-being of its customers and the wider community.
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