Merck Debuts New Report Examining How “Transformational Impact” Can Be Made in Maternal Health

Merck announced today the publication of a new report, Transformational Impact: Scaling and Sustaining Maternal Health Solutions. The report highlights six social investments whose solutions have demonstrated transformational impact on maternal health in vastly different contexts – each with funding from Merck for Mothers, a global initiative to help create a world where no woman has to die while giving life. From small private clinics in Maharashtra, India to a major hospital system in Bahia, Brazil, the report describes how Merck for Mothers has worked with its grantees and collaborators to transform women’s health and enhance the capacity and resiliency of health systems to meet women’s needs.

According to recent figures from the World Health Organization, there have been alarming setbacks for women’s health from 2016 to 2020, as maternal deaths either increased or stagnated in nearly all regions of the world. There is an urgent need to scale sustainable solutions at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic continues to stretch health systems and disrupt networks of maternity care.

To inform Transformational Impact , Merck for Mothers conducted interviews with the leaders of the six solutions featured to better understand their pathways toward impact, scale and sustainability. Operating in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria and the United States, the challenges were different in each local community featured – for example some collaborators were grappling with a lack of quality standards in delivery of maternal care, while others observed women having difficulty accessing family planning services.

“With the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for maternal health as our north star, Merck for Mothers has been working for more than a decade to increase equitable access to safe, high-quality, respectful maternity care during pregnancy and childbirth,” said Dr. Mary-Ann Etiebet, AVP, health equity and lead, Merck for Mothers. “The Transformational Impact report demonstrates our commitment, and urgency, to scale what works in the fight to end maternal mortality and advance health equity.”

Merck’s hope is that the learnings shared in this report will help accelerate collective progress toward ending maternal mortality and advancing health equity. To read the full report and learn more about the transformational impact of these solutions, please visit here.