Sandoz to train midwives in Ethiopia
One of the global leaders in generic pharmaceuticals, Sandoz announced on 3 March the launch of a new program that it believes will improve maternal and child health as well as to reduce child mortality.
The announcement came ahead of International Women’s Day observed on March 8. The program, New Life &New Hopekicks-off with the completion of the first in a series of Sandoz-sponsored trainings to improve obstetric knowledge among midwives in Ethiopia.
In Ethiopian many mothers deliver at home. Added to this limited knowledge of health workers in the area of obstetrics aggravate the state of child birth. Each day 400 mothers and newborns are estimated to die during childbirth.
New Life & New Hope will sponsor four Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care trainings for 100 healthcare professionals, or midwives, in Ethiopia. The trainings of these 100 midwives will impact the care of approximately 40,000 pregnant women in the Addis Ababa area. The trainings are facilitated by the Ethiopian Midwives Association (EMA).
“The United Nations lists reducing child mortality and improving maternal health as two of eight Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015 and this focus on maternal and child health will likely continue within the new UN sustainability goals,” said Nick Haggar, Sandoz Head of Western Europe, Middle East & Africa. “Sandoz is committed to supporting the achievement of these goals by increasing access to high-quality, affordable medicines, as well as supporting improved healthcare services for mothers and children.”
Sandoz, a division of Novartis, has a portfolio that comprises approximately 1,100 molecules, which accounted for 2014 sales of USD 9.6 billion. According to a press release from Sandoz, it holds a leading position globally in biosimilars as well as in generic anti-infectives, ophthalmics and transplantation medicines. It also leads in key therapeutic areas ranging from generic injectables, dermatology and respiratory to cardiovascular, metabolism, central nervous system, pain and gastrointestinal.
