Philanthropic Coalition Unveils $500 Million Initiative to Combat Maternal and Newborn Mortality in Africa
The Beginnings Fund seeks to address the alarming statistic that over 800 women and 7,000 newborns die daily from preventable complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. These deaths are predominantly due to infections, postpartum hemorrhage, and respiratory issues, which are often exacerbated by inadequate healthcare infrastructure and limited access to essential medical supplies.
The initiative will focus on implementing low-cost, high-impact solutions in hospitals with high maternal and neonatal mortality rates. These solutions include the provision of intravenous iron to treat anemia, the use of antibiotics like azithromycin to prevent infections, and the administration of oxytocin and misoprostol to manage postpartum bleeding. Additionally, the fund will support the deployment of portable ultrasound devices equipped with artificial intelligence to assist healthcare workers in remote areas with prenatal diagnostics.
A distinguishing feature of the Beginnings Fund is its emphasis on collaboration with local governments and organisations. By partnering with entities such as the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, Delta Philanthropies, and the ELMA Foundation, the initiative aims to ensure that interventions are culturally appropriate and sustainable. The fund's operations will be coordinated from Nairobi, Kenya, facilitating closer engagement with the target regions.
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This substantial investment comes at a time when international aid for maternal and child health has seen significant reductions. The World Health Organization has warned that such cuts could reverse decades of progress in reducing maternal and infant mortality rates. The Beginnings Fund represents a concerted effort by private philanthropies to fill the void left by dwindling public funding and to reinvigorate global commitments to maternal and newborn health.
Complementing this initiative, the Gates Foundation has also pledged $200 million to improve access to medical supplies and contraception in low- and middle-income countries. This funding will be divided equally between Unitaid and the United Nations Population Fund , supporting efforts to expand healthcare access and reproductive health services.
At the Nutrition for Growth Summit in Paris, philanthropists including the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Jackie and Miguel Bezos committed over $2 billion to combat global child malnutrition. These pledges underscore a growing recognition among private donors of the critical need to invest in maternal and child health, especially in regions where public funding is insufficient.
Despite previous gains in reducing maternal and newborn mortality, progress has stalled in recent years. The Gates Foundation reports that maternal mortality rates have remained static globally since 2016, with two-thirds of these deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. Addressing underlying vulnerabilities, such as malnutrition and lack of access to quality healthcare, is essential to reversing this trend.
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Zawya
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- Zawya
African countries make bold commitments to end preventable deaths of children under five by 2030
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For interview requests, please contact: For Mozambique-based media: For regional and international media: wgaitho@ and wkariuki@ About the Innovation and Action for Immunization and Child Survival Forum 2025: The Innovation and Action for Immunization and Child Survival Forum 2025 brought together stakeholders across selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions including senior health ministry officials, development agencies, donors, academia, civil society, and the private sector. It focused on new and underutilized tools to deliver progress on child survival, more effective infectious disease risk mitigation and surveillance strategies, more efficient models of service delivery, the need for robust prioritization exercises including for routine immunization systems and new vaccine introductions, and innovative child survival financing options. 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Zawya
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- Zawya
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Zawya
29-07-2025
- Zawya
Supply chain innovators are charting a new healthcare future for Africa
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In just a few years, Dawa Mkononi has served over 500 000 patients, reached more than 1 000 pharmacies and facilitated over $1 million in credit to health facilities. 'Our mission is to make medicine accessible, affordable and safe, through data-driven supply chains,' Paul told the SAPICS audience. His company is growing fourfold annually, demonstrating both the magnitude of the problem and the scalability of African-born solutions when given the right support. Meditect: Restoring Trust in Medicines For Dr. Arnaud Pourredon, founder of Meditect and a former surgeon in Côte d'Ivoire, the decision to leave his clinical career was similarly rooted in a moment of despair. 'I couldn't buy malaria treatment for a three-year-old child. That's when I knew we had to fix the system,' he recalled. Meditect provides digital tools that support drug traceability, supply chain visibility and pharmacy management. 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In its first 24 months, i3 has provided $3M in direct grant funding to 60 start-ups across 18 African countries. Sponsored by the Gates Foundation, MSD, Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen), Endless Foundation, HELP Logistics (a subsidiary of the Kühne Foundation) and Sanofi's Global Health Unit, i3 provides risk-tolerant funding, tailored market access support and opportunities to partner with governments, donors and major healthcare organisations. 'Africa doesn't lack ingenuity. It lacks systems to support and scale it,' Kivila emphasised. 'That's what we're fixing with i3.' Building Resilient, Locally-Led Health Systems Beyond numbers and technologies, the SAPICS panel discussion served as a rallying call for rethinking the role of African innovators in shaping the continent's future - and the global healthcare landscape more broadly. Whether it's Dawa Mkononi's last-mile delivery model or Meditect's traceability platforms, these companies are creating blueprints for responsive, transparent, efficient and scalable healthcare systems. They are also creating jobs, strengthening communities and demonstrating that sustainable transformation in patient care is possible. As Kivila concluded, 'Africa's healthcare future does not have to be imported. It is being built here - by Africans, for Africans, and increasingly, for the world.' More than 700 supply chain managers from across Africa and around the world convened in Cape Town for this year's 47th annual SAPICS Conference - to learn, share knowledge and network. This is the leading event in Africa for the supply chain profession. For more information: Email: info@ ABOUT SAPICS: Since 1966, SAPICS has worked to elevate, educate and empower the community of supply chain professionals in South Africa and across the continent. This is done via membership, events, the annual conference and education courses and workshops through Authorised Education Providers and others. SAPICS is registered in South Africa as a not-for-profit company. Its mandate is to ensure that any profits made are used towards the continual development and overall benefit of individuals and organisations in the supply chain management profession. The annual SAPICS Conference is the leading event in Africa for the supply chain profession.
