Maternal Health Supplies at the RHSC GMM

The Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition’s (RHSC’s) General Membership Meeting (GMM) took place 16-20 October 2023 in Accra, Ghana. Members of the Maternal Health Supplies Caucus valued the opportunity to meet stakeholders from very disparate organizations. Presentations and discussions were around the causes of maternal morbidity and mortality, with a deep dive into postpartum hemorrhage, the Caucus’ role within the WHO PPH Roadmap, and maternal nutrition, blood and blood products, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia drugs. Presentations can be found here.

A key discussion point was the need to get women healthy before they become pregnant; prevention was discussed over the full day alongside how to support to Ministries of Health (MOH) to deliver on their missions better. If women were healthier, well nourished, and well monitored during pregnancy (prenatal care), most mortality and morbidity occurrences could be prevented.

The Caucus strongly recommended that regulators should be part of the ongoing conversation. The membership strategy should bring both MOH reps and regulators to the table, the group recommended.