Represents a Critical Step toward Meeting
the Sustainable Development Goals for Women, Children and
Adolescent Health
MSD, known as Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A.,
inside the United States and Canada, announced today its $10
million commitment to the Global Financing Facility (GFF) in
support of Every Woman Every Child to improve maternal and child
health in low- and lower-middle-income countries worldwide through
its MSD for Mothers initiative. Through the GFF – a
multi-stakeholder partnership hosted by the World Bank Group –
countries are aiming to make a much greater impact on the lives of
their most vulnerable citizens, with the goal of preventing an
estimated 3.8 million maternal deaths, 101 million child deaths and
21 million stillbirths by 2030.
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“Women are the cornerstone of a healthy and prosperous world.
When a woman survives pregnancy and childbirth, her family,
community and nation thrive,” said Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and
chief executive officer, MSD. “Our partnership with the GFF
demonstrates how the private sector can play a unique role in
helping to improve maternal and child health worldwide. We look
forward to contributing our resources and expertise to the GFF and
its partner organizations to work toward the common goal of ending
preventable maternal and child deaths.”
The contribution to the GFF Trust Fund – the first from the
private sector – will be used for innovative financing and
public-private partnerships to scale up high-impact interventions
to help women and children to survive and thrive through critical
periods of life: birth, the early years and adolescence. MSD’s
commitment advances the mission of MSD for Mothers, the company’s
10-year, $500 million global initiative to end the tragedy of women
dying from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. In addition
to financial support, MSD will provide business expertise to
strengthen this multi-stakeholder partnership.
GFF partners include, in addition to the GFF implementing
countries, the World Bank Group; the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation; Gavi; the Vaccine Alliance; the Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; the United Nations; and the
governments of Canada, Norway, Japan, the United Kingdom and the
United States.
“Private sector partners, like MSD through its MSD for Mothers
initiative, are leading the way by supporting the GFF,” said Mariam
Claeson, director of the GFF. “With the private sector and with all
GFF partners, countries are building healthier futures for women,
children and adolescents – and donors are getting even greater
results for their money.”
A total of 62 low- and lower-middle-income countries with high
levels of maternal and child mortality are eligible to receive
grants from the GFF Trust Fund; the GFF is currently active in 16
countries around the world. In each GFF country, partners are
aligning their funding to support one country-driven investment
case and strategy that will strengthen the health system by
focusing on high-impact, fiscally efficient solutions.
With the financial assistance and technical expertise of
corporations like MSD, GFF countries will develop innovative
financing mechanisms to mobilize private sector capital,
facilitating partnerships between global companies and countries
and leveraging private sector capabilities to deliver better health
results.
“You can't have healthy children without healthy mothers, and
the future of every country depends on having both,” World Bank
Group President Jim Yong Kim said. “We need the support of all
partners if we're going to achieve our goal of universal access to
healthcare for every woman and every child. We're grateful for this
financial contribution by MSD for Mothers, the first the Global
Financing Facility has received from the private sector.”
About the Global Financing Facility
The Global Financing Facility (GFF) is a multi-stakeholder
partnership that supports country-led efforts to improve the health
of women, children and adolescents. With the GFF, countries are
making smarter, more prioritized, results-focused investments
toward greater impact on the health, nutrition and well-being of
women, children and adolescents; building capacity for more
sustainable funding for this agenda; and exploring more innovative
ways to work with the private sector by scaling up the best
investments in their people more efficiently. Learn more at
www.globalfinancingfacility.org and @theGFF.
About MSD for Mothers
MSD for Mothers is a 10-year, $500 million initiative to create
a world where no woman dies from complications of pregnancy and
childbirth. Drawing on MSD’s history of discovering innovative,
life-saving medicines and vaccines, MSD for Mothers is applying the
company’s scientific and business expertise – as well as its
financial and human resources – to reduce maternal mortality around
the world. Learn more at www.msdformothers.com and
@MSDforMothers.
About MSD
For over a century, MSD has been a global health care leader
working to help the world be well. MSD is a tradename of Merck
& Co., Inc., with headquarters in Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A.
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. For more
information, visit www.msd.com and connect with us on Twitter.
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co. Inc.,
Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A.
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J.,
U.S.A. (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are
based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s
management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties.
If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or
uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially
from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general
industry conditions and competition; general economic factors,
including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations;
the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care
legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends
toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new
products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent
in new product development, including obtaining regulatory
approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict future market
conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial
instability of international economies and sovereign risk;
dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents and other
protections for innovative products; and the exposure to
litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory
actions.
The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause
results to differ materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements can be found in the company’s 2015
Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s
Internet site (www.sec.gov).
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Media:MSD for MothersLainie Keller, 908-236-5036orGlobal
Financing FacilityCheryl Toksoz, 202-473-1103orInvestors:MSDTeri
Loxam, 908-740-1986orAmy Klug, 908-740-1898
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