Unitaid invests US$52 million to expand lifesaving care for pregnant women in Africa

Unitaid invests US$52 million to expand lifesaving care for pregnant women in Africa

New SUPREME initiative pairs Unitaid funding with CHAI and Amref expertise to tackle preeclampsia and anemia across seven African countries.

Geneva / Nairobi, 19 March 2026 – Magnesium sulfate can more than halve the risk of life-threatening seizures during pregnancy when given to women with severe preeclampsia. Yet despite costing less than one dollar and being recognized as the gold-standard treatment, barriers such as supply chain gaps, substandard quality, late diagnosis and untrained staff prevent many women in low- and middle-income countries from accessing it when they need it.  

This is just one of more than 10 lifesaving tools that Unitaid aims to make more widely available through a new US$52.5 million investment to introduce and scale up existing interventions and emerging innovations to ensure pregnant women receive timely detection and treatment for preeclampsia and anemia. These include tools such as low-dose aspirin to prevent preeclampsia, blood-pressure screening devices, anemia diagnostics and treatments like intravenous iron.

Preeclampsia, a hypertensive disorder that can cause dangerous spikes in blood pressure and seizures, causes the death of tens of thousands of women and half a million newborns each year. Anemia, commonly linked to low iron levels, affects nearly 40% of all pregnant women globally and increases the risk of serious complications including hemorrhage, preeclampsia, preterm birth and low birth weight.  

“No woman should die giving life from complications we know how to prevent and treat,” said Dr. Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid. “Lifesaving medicines and diagnostics exist, yet too many women are unable to access them because of gaps in health systems. By accelerating access to both proven tools and new innovations, we can help ensure that women everywhere benefit from the advances in maternal health.”

The initiative brings together two of Africa's most experienced global health implementers – Amref Health Africa and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) – whose technical expertise on health systems strengthening, product development, market shaping, and supply chains will be critical to translating this investment into stronger product access and better maternal health outcomes for preeclampsia and maternal anemia.

"Getting the right product to the right woman at the right time is harder than it sounds – and that’s exactly the problem SUPREME is designed to solve,” said Marie Chantale Lepine, Vice President of the Global Markets Team, CHAI. “CHAI is working with partners to ensure that high-quality diagnostics and treatments for preeclampsia and anemia are developed, affordable, and made available equitably. Because turning investment into lives saved depends on what’s actually on the shelf when a woman walks through the door.”  

“Too many women in Africa are still dying from pregnancy complications we already know how to prevent and treat,” said Dr. Githinji Gitahi, Group CEO of Amref Health Africa. “The medicines and diagnostics exist, but the real challenge is ensuring they reach women at the right time and in the right place. Through the SUPREME initiative, we will work with African governments, health workers, and communities to embed these innovations into strong antenatal care systems that serve and protect women, no matter where they live.”

The SUPREME initiative will focus on Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal and Tanzania, working with ministries of health to strengthen antenatal care services and ensure essential maternal health tools reach facilities where they are needed most. Select activities will also take place in Nigeria and South Africa.

The initiative tackles the availability, affordability and accessibility of these tools at the same time: CHAI will work to ensure the medicines and tools women need are rigorously tested, reliably supplied and priced within reach. Amref will lead in-country activities to ensure product introduction and conduct implementation research to guide scale-up of these products as part of effective models of care. Both Amref and CHAI will work with a consortium of technical partners and research organizations to support implementation, evidence generation and policy uptake.

This work builds on Unitaid’s broader portfolio targeting major causes of maternal and newborn illness and death, including severe bleeding after childbirth (postpartum hemorrhage) and eliminating vertical (mother-to-child) transmission of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B, and Chagas disease. Future investments aim to address systemic barriers to product access across the supply chain, expanding access to lifesaving maternal and newborn health products.

The SUPREME (Sustained Uptake of Products for Pre-Eclampsia and Maternal Anemia) initiative is supported by Unitaid with additional funding from the Gates Foundation. SUPREME Secure is led by CHAI with the Concept Foundation, WACI Health, the Aurum Institute, and the Burnet Institute. SUPREME Lifelines is led by Amref with Jhpiego, Solthis and Market Access Africa.  

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