Merck for Mothers

Merck for Mothers is a corporate global health program launched by the pharmaceutical company Merck and Company in 2011 with a ten-year, five hundred million dollar commitment to reduce preventable deaths from pregnancy and childbirth complications worldwide. The program funds and partners with governments, nongovernmental organizations, and researchers to improve access to quality maternal healthcare, particularly around the prevention and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage and other major causes of maternal mortality, in countries with high rates of maternal death. It represents one of the largest sustained corporate commitments specifically targeted at maternal mortality reduction, distinguishing it from the broader corporate philanthropy that pharmaceutical companies typically direct toward disease treatment rather than systemic health system strengthening. Merck has continued to describe the program's mission as preventing maternal mortality through partnership-based investment rather than through direct provision of Merck's own pharmaceutical products alone.