Merck Recognizes Moving Health with 2024 Kenneth C. Frazier Award for Maternal Health Equity for Efforts to Reduce Maternal Mortality

Merck for Mothers, announced the 2024 Kenneth C. Frazier Award for Maternal Health Equity has been awarded to Moving Health, an organization committed to ending preventable maternal mortality by providing a safer and faster mode of transportation for pregnant women in rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, such as Ghana. The award is being granted through Merck for Mothers, the company’s global initiative to help create a world where no woman has to die while giving life.

“Everyone, regardless of their geographic location, deserves access to a sustainable form of emergency transportation. We are ecstatic to receive the Kenneth C. Frazier Award for Maternal Health Equity as it will allow us to expand our work into additional regions and continue to work to meet the health care needs of pregnant women and their communities,” said Emily Young, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder of Moving Health.

Through the development of low-cost ambulances, Moving Health is able to address one of the top barriers to accessing medical care globally, adequate transportation to hospitals and other delivery points for high-quality health care. Moving Health actively collaborates with traditional birth attendants, midwives, and community leaders to improve vehicle infrastructure and co-create solutions to maternal health care challenges for women in “last-mile” communities, where the ambulances have been a ‘game-changer’ for many. Looking forward, Moving Health seeks to scale up operations, filling the missing transport link between communities and integral maternal health care services and expanding to new regions.

This annual award was created in 2021 to honor the legacy of Kenneth C. Frazier, retired chairman and CEO of Merck, who championed the advancement of equitable maternal health outcomes and called for pregnancy and childbirth to be safe for all. Each year, this grant award is bestowed upon one organization to celebrate its commitment to and progress toward more equitable, high-quality maternal health care. Past recipients have sought to improve maternal health by implementing strategic approaches dedicated to enhancing, high-quality and culturally relevant maternal health care services. A key focus of each recipient has been driving community-led solutions for overcoming barriers for underserved populations.

Ken Frazier helped to pioneer the creation of Merck for Mothers more than a decade ago. Since its inception, the program has reached more than 30 million women to help promote healthier pregnancies and safer birth outcomes. Moving Health, as well as the past recipients of this award, help to further his and our company’s legacy of addressing unmet medical needs and advancing equitable access to health.