Market-shaping strategy for reproductive, maternal and newborn health

A global health organization tasked Market Access Africa with the validation of their market-shaping strategy for reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) commodities.

The organization had a track record of providing RMNCH services in Africa, and was developing a new strategy for the next 5 years. While previous strategies focused on interventions to improve quality of care and national-level planning, they lacked specific actions to increase access to essential health products – especially the ones targeting the leading complications in mothers and newborns. As a result, the organization was falling short of its target of dramatically reducing maternal and newborn deaths in the countries where it works.  

The Problem

Africa’s maternal and newborn mortality trends highlight the regions lingering inequalities. In lower-resource settings across the continent, newborns and their mothers die at an alarming rate from preventable complications of labour and delivery. These deaths are especially disheartening given that antenatal care coverage rates have improved markedly, and an increasing number of births are occurring in medical facilities.

The majority of deaths in women and children can be prevented with effective and affordable interventions that prevent or treat the most common causes of illness. These integrated approaches focus on providing essential maternal and newborn care during the final stage of labour and immediately after birth—crucial stages at which effective interventions can prevent maternal and newborn deaths.

A wide range of currently available innovations have an enormous potential to save maternal, newborn and child lives, but they have to be implemented and scaled successfully. In many settings, these interventions are still not reaching women and children, and key social determinants of health remain unaddressed

The Solution

Market Access Africa was commissioned to perform an assessment of the product landscape for RMNCH and evaluate the organization’s draft strategy. Following this, we conducted a three-month diagnostic that identified opportunities to prioritize key products, while dramatically improving patient experience.

This included the collection of primary and secondary data; a comprehensive assessment of the supply environment and the uptake dynamics; a market SWOT analysis to identify shortcomings and opportunities for each product category; and recommendations for a rollout plan.

The Outcome

Our analysis shed light on interventions and approaches that can enable rapid identification of conditions that lead to poor outcomes during pregnancy, birth and in the first months of life. The report analysis helped the global health organization redesign an effective implementation strategy in key African countries.