Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and
Canada, announced today a fifth round of grants in its Merck for
Mothers Global Grants program dedicated to reducing maternal
mortality in locations where there is the greatest need. Merck for
Mothers, the company’s global initiative launched in 2011 to help
create a world where no woman has to die while giving life,
supports the corporate grant program which enables Merck offices
around the world to aid nongovernmental organizations that are
improving maternal health. The program is designed to be responsive
to local women’s needs, focusing on how resources can contribute
distinctively to increase health equity in maternity care and
support.
Since its inception, the Global Grants program has supported
over 60 diverse projects in more than 50 global sites, from
Argentina to Vietnam, reaching over 3.5 million women and training
more than 60,000 health care workers. The first four rounds of
Global Grants helped address barriers to seeking and receiving
high-quality maternal health care and improving the overall health
and wellbeing of women and girls of reproductive age. The fifth
round of grantees across Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, the Middle
East and Latin America will lead high-impact activities to improve
maternal health and promote health equity ranging from access to
quality care using innovative digital tools to education
surrounding the health rights of women.
“Merck for Mothers has been part of our legacy of leveraging the
private sector for public good for nearly a decade,” said Kenneth
C. Frazier, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck. “More than
13 million women have benefitted from Merck for Mothers supported
programs promoting safe, high-quality care as part of our
company-wide commitment to help end preventable maternal
deaths.”
“This new round of Global Grants projects holds great promise to
help reduce disparities in maternal health outcomes and have an
impact on women’s health and wellbeing while at the same time,
strengthening health systems to make lasting improvements on how
maternal health care is delivered today and tomorrow,” said Dr.
Mary-Ann Etiebet, lead and executive director of Merck for
Mothers.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 800 women
die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth
each day. To help reduce maternal mortality, these new grants are
unique to their selected region, but all center on collective
action to address maternal health and promote health equity:
- In Asia Pacific, our grantees promote safe birth
practices, improve access to family planning and engage individuals
in their care across ethnic minority regions. These programs seek
to increase quality of maternity care in public and private health
facilities to support equitable access to critical services.
- In Europe, our grantees provide young women and girls
living in medically underserved rural communities with information
and access to maternal health care and family planning
services.
- In Africa and the Middle East, our grantees support
pregnant women living with chronic health conditions with improved
access to maternal health and family planning services. These
programs also strengthen health providers’ skills and practices,
while building strong referral networks to offer comprehensive,
respectful care.
- In Latin America, our grantees are expanding the
capacity of the health care systems to deliver quality care,
including through the use of technology, while also increasing
education around the health rights of pregnant women.
“The Global Grants programs in the Asia Pacific region have
reached millions of women through maternal health programs that
promote safe birth practices, strengthen midwifery education,
improve access to family planning, promote health-seeking behaviors
and more, said Dorthe Mikkelsen, President, Asia Pacific, MSD. “We
are pleased to have new programs in 2021 and the continued
opportunities working with stakeholders from government, academia,
non-profit and private sectors across the region to take a holistic
approach to help address disparities in health care coverage and
inequalities that impact quality maternal health."
New Global Grants Include:
- Argentina: UNICEF is promoting the rights of pregnant
women by increasing community participation and intercultural
engagement in maternity care with focus on adolescents from
indigenous communities in three provinces (Misiones, Chaco and
Salta).
- Brazil: The Sociedade Beneficente Israelita Brasileira
Albert Einstein is establishing a virtual quality improvement
collaborative across hospitals and primary health care units to
enhance providers’ knowledge and skills to improve maternity
care.
- Jordan: The King Hussein Cancer Foundation is developing
a patient-centric approach to increase uptake of women’s health
services among pregnant women and new mothers with a focus on
family planning, breastfeeding and breast cancer screening.
- Mexico: Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida
(GIRE) is increasing women’s access to information about their
rights during and after pregnancy, with focus on respectful care,
free from physical and psychological abuse or discrimination.
- Morocco: The Lalla Salma Foundation is providing
therapeutic education about maternal health for women living with
cancer, while also increasing health care provider awareness of the
importance of effective monitoring and support of pregnant oncology
patients.
- Philippines: Jhpiego is improving the quality of
maternity care in public and private health facilities in the
Sorsogon Province (Bicol Region) and establishing an effective
referral network to increase timely emergency response to address
obstetric emergencies.
- Romania and Moldova: Save the Children, together with
Child Rights Information Center in Moldova, is developing and
implementing an integrated model of maternal health care and family
planning services, supporting pregnant teenagers and young mothers
living in rural communities
- Russia: E.V.A. Association is improving sexual,
reproductive and maternal health care among women at risk for and
living with HIV by raising awareness on prevention and care and
increasing health care provider skills to provide comprehensive
care.
- West Balkan Region: The International Planned Parenthood
Federation European Network is supporting young people’s sexual,
reproductive and maternal health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic
by making sure that information and services are accessible and
youth friendly, with special attention to those living in rural
settings of the West Balkan Regions (Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria,
Kosovo and North Macedonia).
To learn more about the Merck for Mothers Global Grant program,
including current and past grantees, please visit:
https://www.merckformothers.com/where-we-work/global-grants.html
To learn more about the Merck for Mothers initiative to improve
health equity in maternal health care in the U.S., please visit
SaferChildbirthCities.com.
About Merck
For 130 years, Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States
and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines
and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases in
pursuit of our mission to save and improve lives. We demonstrate
our commitment to patients and population health by increasing
access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and
partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of
research to prevent and treat diseases that threaten people and
animals – including cancer, infectious diseases such as HIV and
Ebola, and emerging animal diseases – as we aspire to be the
premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world.
For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with connect
with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
About Merck for Mothers
Merck for Mothers is our company’s $500 million initiative to
help create a world where no woman has to die giving life. Applying
Merck’s business and scientific resources for nearly a decade, we
collaborate with partners to improve the health and well-being of
women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period in
support of the Sustainable Development Goals. For more information,
visit www.merckformothers.com.
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc.,
Kenilworth, N.J., USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J.,
USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are
based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s
management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties.
If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or
uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially
from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general
industry conditions and competition; general economic factors,
including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations;
the impact of the global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease
(COVID-19); the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and
health care legislation in the United States and internationally;
global trends toward health care cost containment; technological
advances, new products and patents attained by competitors;
challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining
regulatory approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict
future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays;
financial instability of international economies and sovereign
risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents and
other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to
litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory
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The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any
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future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause
results to differ materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements can be found in the company’s 2020
Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other filings with the
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