U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and Medical Credit Fund Announce a New Effort to Improve Maternal Health Care in Sub-Saharan Africa

Amsterdam/New York, October 26, 2021 – U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Medical Credit Fund, a non-profit organization established as part of PharmAccess Group, announced today a new collaboration aimed at reducing maternal mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. This collaboration will result in the design and implementation of a technical assistance facility for health providers in the region, serving mothers and their families in low-income settings. The effort will be supported through the MOMs (Maternal Outcomes Matter) Initiative, a program launched in June 2019 by DFC, MSD for Mothers, Credit Suisse and USAID to mobilize private capital to stimulate, advance and scale innovations that contribute to a healthy pregnancy and safe childbirth in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 200,000 women die each year from causes related to pregnancy, accounting for over two-thirds of all maternal deaths per year worldwide. With adequate care, most of these deaths are preventable. Leveraging more than a decade of combined experience from DFC and Medical Credit Fund in developing innovative health system solutions, this new project will allow hundreds of staff members of African health care facilities to receive in-depth technical support to improve health care services, especially around maternal, newborn, and child health care (MNCH).

The technical assistance facility will combine digitally enabled clinical and strategic learning tools with traditional capacity building, such as on-site trainings. Where applicable, facilities can access loans to finance maternal health quality improvements. The collaboration will also support the implementation of the online Quality Platform from PharmAccess Group’s SafeCare, a standards-based, digital quality improvement platform. Through the online Quality Platform, providers will receive direct guidance and can monitor progress in real-time. The technical assistance facility will subsequently become available for other facilities serving the wider health care community, including public sector health care facilities.

‘’With this collaboration we can lay the basis of an effective model for sustainable technical assistance programs. By introducing online and offline learning programs we can help health care staff to grow and provide better maternal care to their community,’’ said Nicole Spieker, director quality, CEO of PharmAccess as of November 1st.

“Through the MOMs Initiative, MSD for Mothers is thrilled to help catalyze a health care community that is better equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to foster a culture of quality for mothers in Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Dr. Mary-Ann Etiebet, lead of MSD for Mothers, MSD’s global initiative to help create a world where no woman has to die while giving life.

“DFC is proud to support this groundbreaking technical assistance facility, which will help save the lives of low-income mothers and children throughout Africa and enable the development of healthier, more prosperous communities,” said Algene Sajery, DFC’s Vice President of the Office of External Affairs and Head of Global Gender Equity Initiatives.

The Medical Credit Fund (which is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs) partners with DFC to address private health sector challenges through a holistic approach. This new effort builds on their legacy of interventions intended to improve health systems – by promoting safe, high-quality, respectful maternity care for people everywhere, providing access to capital for providers to grow and improve and introducing certified standards for care.

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Press contact:
j.boersma@pharmaccess.org