Critical Need

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 24.5 million individuals live with HIV/AIDS.  This staggering number accounts for 71% of the estimated worldwide infections. As many as 10% of these people contracted the disease from infected blood received during one of the 6 million blood transfusions performed annually in Africa. 

The majority of these cases are pregnant women and children receiving transfusions during treatment for anemia and malaria in one of the hospitals that make up so many African hospitals that DO NOT currently test blood properly.

But lives can be saved.  By simply distributing test kits into the hands of properly trained clinicians and training them - all for as little as $15.00 a life saved hundreds of thousands of African lives can be saved each year.

Compelled to fight this avoidable tragedy, NBA Star and 2005 Rookie of the Year Emeka Okafor has partnered with the Safe Blood for Africa Foundation, (SBFA) to create the One Million African Lives Initiative or MLI.  This program seeks to save 1 million lives over the next 5 years by providing not only the kits to test blood, but also the technical training and clinical education required to ensure those kits are used properly and to increase the safe blood supply.