The fund will make targeted investments in the products, people, and systems required to improve and scale maternal and newborn health.
Kenya is
among ten African countries that will benefit from a $600 million initiative which
aims to save more than 300,000 lives and ensure 34 million women and
newborns across Africa receive quality care by 2030.
The
initiative, known as the Beginnings Fund was launched last week by a coalition
of global philanthropies.
The
Fund will operate in up to 10 countries comprising Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Lesotho, Nigeria,
Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
It will
work in partnership with African governments, national organisations, and experts to prevent.
“African governments, with support from philanthropic and
bilateral organisations,
are at the forefront of advancing maternal and newborn health and making
groundbreaking innovations. The continent is making remarkable strides, but
achieving lasting change requires collaborative action,” said Alice Kang’ethe, chief executive officer of the Beginnings Fund, said at the launch on April 20 in
Abu Dhabi.
The initiative
was established through a philanthropic commitment of nearly $600
million, including $100 million in direct funding for initiatives that further
the fund’s mission.
This joint commitment
was enabled by a major grant from the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity
that unlocked matched funding from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation,
Delta Philanthropies, The ELMA Foundation, Gates Foundation, joined by funding
from Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Patchwork Collective, and others.
Over the next five years, the Fund will partner with up to
10 African countries to make targeted investments in the products, people, and
systems required to improve and scale maternal and newborn health, a statement from the coalition
said.
These investments will advance maternal and newborn survival
in high-burden hospitals, health centres, and referral networks, in which most maternal and newborn
deaths – the majority of which are preventable – occur.
The Beginnings Fund will focus on strengthening the
workforce and equipping facilities with a bundle of low-cost, evidence-based
interventions. By harnessing innovations, empowering a skilled workforce, and
building strong data and referral systems, the Beginnings Fund aims to support
governments in giving mothers and babies the best chance at a healthy future, the statement said.
His Highness Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,
Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Development and Fallen Heroes’
Affairs in the UAE, said at
the launch: “In the earliest days of the UAE, our nation faced high
maternal and newborn mortality rates. This journey taught us the profound
importance of quality healthcare that is available to all, at every stage of
life, and this knowledge continues to guide us today. Through this partnership,
we further our dedication to working hand in hand with governments and partners
to build a healthier, more hopeful future for generations to come.”
Newborn deaths in the first month of life are the single
biggest driver of mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 70 per cent of maternal deaths also occur.
Most of these deaths are preventable with trained health workers providing
essential care to mothers and babies.
Sir Chris Hohn, founder and chair
of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, said: “Mothers and babies dying
in childbirth from preventable causes is a travesty – but ending this travesty
is within our reach. Working with African governments, the Beginnings Fund will
have a profound impact, giving millions of children a healthy start in life.
However, this should only be the beginning. To achieve its ambitious targets
for 2030, the Beginnings Fund will need more global funders and philanthropists
to step up.”
Tanya Masiyiwa, President and CEO of Delta Philanthropies,
added: “As Delta Philanthropies, we have seen firsthand how collective
investments drive real, transformative change. The Beginnings Fund will amplify
our impact and save more lives. We hope that other African philanthropic
organisations can join us on this important journey.”
Without transformative action, 182,000 women and 1.2 million
newborns in Africa will continue to die each year from preventable causes, in
addition to 950,000 stillbirths.
“The ELMA Foundation is impelled to pool our collective
optimism and funding with others in the Beginnings Fund, so that we can move
beyond making periodic grants and instead deploy significant capital to the
tools, technologies, and people that will dramatically and sustainably reduce
maternal and newborn mortality in Africa,” said Robyn Calder, President of ELMA
Philanthropies.
Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation, said: “In
the past decade, researchers have pioneered remarkable new ways to keep mothers
and their children alive and healthy – but these solutions still aren’t
reaching the people who need them most.”
He added:
“We’re committed to working with government, health workers, and partners
like the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity, CIFF, Delta Philanthropies,
ELMA, and others, to address this unacceptable disparity and accelerate
progress on maternal and newborn health.”