Insights: Dr. Mary-Ann Etiebet Reflects on Merck for Mothers’ Efforts and What’s Next

May 17, 2018 9:30 AM ET
Dr. Mary-Ann Etiebet

Originally published on GBC Health Insights

We sat down with Merck for Mothers Executive Director, Dr. Mary Ann-Etiebet, to hear about the progress that has been made, why she joined the company last year, and what’s next for the global initiative.

Can you give a brief explanation of Merck for Mothers and the initiative’s goals?

Merck for Mothers is our company’s $500 million global initiative to create a world where no woman dies giving life. We’re focused on bringing the best of Merck’s invention and private sector expertise to the cause, and testing innovative models that expand women’s access to quality care with the potential to be scaled and sustained.

How far has Merck for Mothers progressed?

Over the past six years, Merck for Mothers has improved access to quality maternity care and modern contraception for more than six million women around the world. Working with 100+ partners, we have more than 50 projects in more than 30 countries around the world. From advancing lifesaving medicines, to building reliable supply chains and developing new technologies – we’re implementing efforts that ensure women and their health providers are at the center of our solutions.

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​About Merck for Mothers
Merck for Mothers is a 10-year, 500 million dollar initiative that applies Merck scientific and business expertise – as well as its financial resources and experience in taking on tough global healthcare challenges – to end preventable maternal mortality worldwide. To achieve this, Merck for Mothers is providing transformational and sustainable solutions focused on improving the quality of maternal health care women receive at health facilities and increasing women’s access to family planning.

Merck for Mothers focuses on helping countries reduce maternal mortality and improve maternal health with the overall aim of supporting United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.1, which calls for a global reduction in the maternal mortality ratio to fewer than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. For more information, visit www.merckformothers.com.

About Merck
For more than a century, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company 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. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and communities around the world - including cancer, cardio-metabolic diseases, emerging animal diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and infectious diseases including HIV and Ebola. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.