Rahway-based Merck on Wednesday said Merck for Mothers, the company’s global maternal health initiative, has reached more than 30 million women through programs promoting safe, high-quality, respectful care, surpassing its goal of reaching 25 million women by 2025.
The initiative supports the company’s work in expanding access to health and accelerating progress toward the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goal 3, which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all. More specifically, it is focused on creating a world where no woman has to die while giving life by helping to address the first target under SDG 3, reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.
“I am so proud of our company’s longstanding commitment to our Merck for Mothers initiative, which is dedicated to improving maternal health outcomes around the world,” Allison Goldberg, president, Merck Foundation, said. “Through Merck for Mothers, we have now helped more than 30 million women access high-quality, life-saving care around pregnancy and childbirth — surpassing our goal of reaching 25 million women by 2025. This milestone serves as a reminder that much work is left to be done, and we remain committed to helping create a world where no woman has to die while giving life.”
Through wide-ranging approaches, Merck for Mothers harnesses the power of public-private collaboration to strengthen health systems and mobilize solutions to address the diverse and unique needs of moms, babies and families worldwide. The initiative’s milestone of 30 million women reached reflects the combined total impact of the programs and partnerships it supports in more than 70 countries, including India, Brazil, Kenya, Nigeria and the U.S.
The U.S. is the only high-income country in which maternal mortality is on the rise — where Merck for Mothers supports a variety of programs to address racial inequities in maternal health outcomes. For example, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation, Merck for Mothers created the Hear Her campaign to disseminate critical information on pregnancy and childbirth-related complications, reaching more than 1.5 million people to date across the campaign’s website and social media channels.
