Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG; AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced a major partnership with the Republic of the Congo's Ministry of Health & Population and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to reduce maternal and newborn mortality rates by fifty (50) percent in the country's health facilities over the next five years, especially in remote areas.
The three partners are working together to develop a large-scale 'Emergency obstetric and newborn care' (EmONC) program that will reach more than 500,000 women and 70,000 newborns, improving access to high quality and affordable maternal, neonatal and child healthcare. The first phase of the program will target five districts: Talangai, Ouesso-Mokeko-Pikounda-Kabo, Sembe-Souanke, Zanaga-Bambama and Sibiti-Komono.
The main objective of the program is to manage high-risk pregnancies and complications in healthcare facilities better by training midwives, enabling timely prevention of - and intervention during - complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.
As part of the program, health facilities in remote parts of the Congo will be fitted with solar power systems and ultra-portable ultrasound and monitoring devices so that midwives and doctors in these district health centers can identify and manage high-risk pregnancies onsite and provide emergency obstetric and newborn care. Community health workers serving remote communities will be equipped with backpack outreach kits containing key equipment to assist in childbirth, together with a mobile phone they can use to get remote technical support.
Despite falling by almost half between 2005 and 2015, maternal mortality rates in the Republic of the Congo are still similar to those of other less-developed countries. Women in the country's rural areas face ongoing difficulties, especially the indigenous communities. Further investment in healthcare infrastructures, services, technology and innovation are therefore needed to ensure that maternal and newborn mortality rates continue to fall.
'The Government of the Republic of the Congo is committed to accelerating progress towards reducing maternal and newborn mortality,' said Jacqueline Lydia Mikolo, Minister of Health & Population of the Republic of the Congo. 'We are open to fostering collaborations that are dynamic and mutually beneficial, and we foresee great potential in this partnership with Philips and UNFPA.'
Philips is passionate about maternal and child healthcare, because more than in any other sector, we can make a direct and dramatic positive impact on the quality of people's lives.
Henk de Jong
'You cannot achieve prosperity without quality healthcare, particularly for mothers and children, so we are excited to come on board and contribute effectively to this partnership,' said Henk de Jong, Chief of International Markets, Philips. 'Philips is passionate about maternal and child healthcare, because more than in any other sector, we can make a direct and dramatic positive impact on the quality of people's lives.'
'This innovative partnership will help get us closer to achieving our goal of zero maternal deaths in the Republic of the Congo by improving the emergency obstetric and neonatal care that people in rural and hard-to-reach communities receive,' said Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA Executive Director. 'We are committed to leaving no one behind and hope this model will inspire others who share our goal of making pregnancy and childbirth safe everywhere.'
The Ministry of Health and Population will pay the salaries of the civil officials involved in the program. UNFPA will support the health districts in strengthening the capacities of midwives to provide EmONC services to increase the number of safe births and Philips will provide the technological know-how for this program.
During the second phase, the project will be rolled out to another 47 health districts in semi-urbanized and rural areas, including Pool, Likouala, Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, Plateaux, Bouenza, Niari, Kouilou, Pointe Noire and the other district of Brazzaville.
The partnership will help to transform healthcare in the Republic of the Congo, ensuring that the quality of its services is enhanced, its facilities meet World Health Organization (WHO) standards, and its ability to reduce maternal and newborn mortality is significantly improved. At the recent Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, the government committed to ensuring that all pregnant women have an antenatal consultation, and that all women deliver their babies with a skilled birth attendant by 2022.
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