Merck announced its $10 million commitment to the Global Financing Facility (GFF) in support of Every Woman Every Child to improve maternal and child health in low- and lower-middle-income countries worldwide through Merck for Mothers.
The GFF, launched by then U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim in July 2015, is a multi-stakeholder partnership that supports country-led efforts to help meet the Sustainable Development Goals related to maternal and child health. The GFF goal is to prevent an estimated 3.8 million maternal deaths, 101 million child deaths, and 21 million stillbirths by 2030.
The health of women, children and adolescents is not just a concern for the public sector and NGOs. Preventing maternal mortality, in particular, requires a multi-sector approach. This commitment emphasizes the value of public-private partnerships as an effective tool to address complex health challenges, and the value of innovative financing in helping countries make results-focused investments to improve the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents for the long term.
“Women are the cornerstone of a healthy and prosperous world. When a woman survives pregnancy and childbirth, her family, community and nation thrive,” said Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck. “Our partnership with the GFF demonstrates how the private sector can play a unique role in helping to improve maternal and child health worldwide. We look forward to contributing our resources and expertise to the GFF and its partner organizations to work toward the common goal of ending preventable maternal and child deaths.”
Merck’s commitment advances the mission of Merck for Mothers. The contribution will be used for innovative financing and public-private partnerships to scale up high-impact interventions to help women and children survive and thrive during pregnancy and childbirth. In addition to financial support, Merck will provide business expertise to strengthen this partnership.
Merck is joined by GFF partners including the World Bank Group; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; the United Nations; and the governments of Canada, Norway, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
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