UAE foundation pledges $125M to improve maternal, newborn survival in Africa

The Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity has announced the launch of an initiative to improve maternal and newborn survival in Africa with a grant of $125 million (around AED 459 million).

The organisation on Tuesday said the "Beginnings Fund" will work in partnership with African governments, national organisations, and experts to prevent over 300,000 deaths and enhance access to quality care for 34 million mothers and babies by 2030.

In collaboration with country-level implementation partners, the "Beginnings Fund" will operate in up to 10 countries - Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe - and continue to pool and invest multi-year funding.

The initial commitment from its founding philanthropies is designed to catalyse further funding from new donors, ensuring long-term sustainability.

The Fund will focus on equipping facilities with a bundle of low-cost, evidence-based interventions. 

A total of nearly $600 million was pledged alongside partners from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Delta Philanthropies, The ELMA Foundation, and Gates Foundation, with further funding from Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Patchwork Collective and others.

The announcement was made at Kanad Hospital in Al Ain, the first modern hospital to be established in Abu Dhabi.

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.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of World Health Organisation, welcomed the launch of the "the Beginnings Fund" adding that it will help "end these preventable tragedies".

Even though the world has made tremendous progress in "reducing the number of maternal and child deaths in the last two decades" using "dedicated health workers and governments, backed by investment and technical know-how," he noted that "every seven seconds, a mother or baby dies a preventable death".

The Ethiopian Minister of Health, Dr. Mekdes Daba, said, "Mothers and newborns should not be dying from causes we know how to prevent".

"We all have a shared responsibility to build resilient and well-resourced health systems that can safeguard the life of every pregnant woman and newborn. With the right investments and innovations, countries around the world have succeeded in transforming maternal and newborn care. There is no reason that we cannot do the same.”

According to Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation, despite researchers pioneering "remarkable new ways to keep mothers and their children alive and healthy", over the last decade.. "these solutions still aren't reaching the people who need them most".

Alice Kang'ethe, Chief Executive Officer of the Beginnings Fund, said that 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.