15th May 2025
In Sierra Leone, through a small grants mechanism*, RHSC’s Maternal Health Supplies (MHS) Caucus has supported the Ministry of Health in implementing a new roadmap and national guidelines for use of heat-stable carbetocin (HSC) and tranexamic acid (TXA), to tackle postpartum hemorrhage (PPH)-related deaths which account for 41% of all maternal deaths in the country. Mama-Pikin Foundation worked with the health ministry to prepare for the rapid scale-up of HSC and TXA by developing a national training package. More than 1,460 public-sector health providers across 773 facilities received training in active management of the third stage of labor with administration of HSC as first line prevention of PPH and administration of TXA, as an adjunct to oxytocics, for the treatment of PPH.
During supportive supervision visits, and following administration of HSC, many of the health providers reported seeing a decrease in uterine atony and postpartum bleeding, indicating a positive trend in the health facilities trained. Health providers also expressed more confidence in managing PPH comprehensively and in sending patients home, without fearing the risk of bleeding later. Finally, district hospitals reported that they have not had to manage a postpartum hemorrhage since initiating use of HSC, which was not the norm prior at the start of the project six months ago. The trained health providers have been proactively reaching out to their district medical stores to ensure that HSC and TXA remain in stock.
* RHSC’s Maternal Health Supplies Caucus small grants mechanism, or the Catalytic Opportunity Fund for Introduction and Scale-Up of New and Lesser-Used Postpartum Hemorrhage Medicines (NLUM-PPH COF), is managed by RHSC and the Clinton Health Access Initiative and funded by MSD for Mothers and the UK's Reproductive Health Supplies Programme. MSD for Mothers is an initiative of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.
Category: Maternal Health Supplies Caucus