The New Effort Aims to Improve Maternal Health Care in Sub-Saharan Africa

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, October 26, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- 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.

DFC and Medical Credit Fund take a holistic approach to address the challenges of the private health sector. 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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About the MOMs Initiative
The MOMs (Maternal Outcomes Matter) Initiative, launched in June 2019, brings together the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Merck for Mothers, USAID, and Credit Suisse with the goal of mobilizing up to USD $50M in funding to support private sector companies working to improve maternal health in regions of the world with high rates of maternal death. Initiative partners are also providing technical assistant to investees to ensure they have capacity to meet financial and operational goals as well as impact goals.

About DFC
U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is America’s development bank. DFC partners with the private sector to finance solutions to the most critical challenges facing the developing world today. We invest across sectors including energy, healthcare, critical infrastructure, and technology. DFC also provides financing for small businesses and women entrepreneurs in order to create jobs in emerging markets. DFC investments adhere to high standards and respect the environment, human rights, and worker rights.
Contact:
press@dfc.gov

About Medical Credit Fund
Established in 2009 as part of the PharmAccess Group, the Medical Credit Fund (MCF) is the only not-for profit fund exclusively dedicated to financing small and medium-sized healthcare companies (health SMEs) in Africa. MCF is a blended fund that works with a wide network of African partners to provide SMEs with loans and technical assistance so they can expand their businesses and invest in quality improvement. MCF uses innovative financing solutions and digital technologies to cater to the financing needs of health SMEs and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals for health.
Contact:
j.boersma@pharmaccess.org
+31638428089

About PharmAccess
PharmAccess believes in doing healthcare better. With a focus on sub-Saharan Africa, PharmAccess is an international NGO that works on improving healthcare markets so that they can deliver for everyone. Its work has long focused on achieving greater health access, echoing the global call for universal health coverage, by mobilizing private and public resources, measuring and improving quality of services, and reaching even the most excluded people with financing options to pay for care.
Contact:
j.boersma@pharmaccess.org
+31638428089

Jeltsje Boersma
PharmAccess
+31202103920
j.boersma@pharmaccess.org
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