11 April 2025
On the occasion of the International Day for Maternal Health and Rights, we publish this video in support of the World Health Organization’s year-long campaign, “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures.” This global campaign calls on stakeholders to intensify efforts to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths and to prioritise the long-term health and well-being of women.
Postpartum haemorrhage remains the leading cause of maternal mortality in Senegal. According to WHO, approximately 70,000 deaths globally each year are attributed to postpartum haemorrhage, with over 90% occurring in low- and middle-income countries.
In this video, Madame Mame Laitite Diallo Diouf, a dedicated midwife and coordinator for reproductive health at the Regional Health Centre of Fatick, Senegal, shares her insights on the critical importance of heat-stable carbetocin in improving medication availability and combating maternal mortality. In 2024, MPP signed a memorandum of understanding with Ferring, the patent holder for heat-stable carbetocin, to make this oxytocin analogue accessible in low- and middle-income countries. Madame Diouf highlights the challenges faced in Senegal, such as the need for proper storage of oxytocin and the lack of electrified health centres. She emphasises that access to heat-stable carbetocin could significantly help reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and ensure sustainable availability of the medicine.
MPP’s approach is aligned with the broader efforts of Unitaid, Ferring, and other organisations to reduce maternal mortality worldwide. MPP’s work in maternal health includes negotiating public-health-driven licences with patent holders and sublicensing essential medicines to generic manufacturers for people in need in low- and middle-income countries. This model encourages the sale of affordable high-quality generic versions of innovative medicines and the development of formulations needed in resource-limited settings.
Press and Media
The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to and facilitate the development of life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries. Through its innovative business model, MPP partners with civil society, governments, international organisations, industry, patient groups, and other stakeholders to prioritise and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations.
To date, MPP has signed agreements with 22 patent holders for 13 HIV antiretrovirals, one HIV technology platform, three hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals, a tuberculosis treatment, a cancer treatment, four long-acting technologies, a post-partum haemorrhage medicine, three oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19 and 16 COVID-19 technologies.
MPP was founded by Unitaid, which continues to be MPP’s main funder. MPP’s work on access to essential medicines is also funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Government of Canada, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Government of Flanders. MPP’s activities in COVID-19 are undertaken with the financial support of the Japanese Government, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the German Agency for International Cooperation, and SDC.