WACI Health Executive Director Rosemary Mburu. The Nairobi meeting brought together a coalition of community and civil society organisations from Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal and Tanzania, under the SUPREME project.



Maternal health advocates have urged governments and drug manufacturers to involve women and communities in designing maternal health solutions, including medicines and tools for treating pre-eclampsia and maternal anaemia.

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WACI Health Executive Director Rosemary Mburu said that some pregnant women are reluctant to seek medication to prevent or treat the conditions because they fear being given medicines that may not be suitable for them or could cause side effects.

She called for Community Advisory Boards to be involved in the development of maternal health medicines and products, stressing that decisions on the medications pregnant women use should no longer be left entirely to healthcare professionals such as gynaecologists and midwives.

“For the longest time, this process has only involved gynaecologists and midwives, while women and the community at large have never been asked about their preferences or how we can improve these products to better suit their needs. Women have complained enough that some of the drugs are too big and have side effects,” Mburu said.

“Some women have reported experiencing side effects from the drugs they are given. This has put pressure on the government, manufacturers and product developers to identify alternatives that can ensure women do not experience these side effects.”

Product developers, manufacturers and regulators have also been encouraged to engineer and bring to the market new diagnostics and tools that are rigorously tested, reliably supplied and within the reach of health systems that need them.

The call was made in Nairobi during a meeting that brought together a coalition of community and civil society organisations from Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal and Tanzania, under the SUPREME project.

The project is a Unitaid-funded initiative seeking to expand access to tools for preventing, detecting and treating pre-eclampsia and maternal anaemia.

Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy complication characterised by high blood pressure that usually develops after 20 weeks of pregnancy and can affect the mother’s organs and the baby’s health if not detected and treated early. If left untreated, it can progress to eclampsia, a severe complication in which the woman develops seizures.

Maternal anaemia is a condition where a pregnant woman has a low red blood cell or hemoglobin level, meaning her blood is carrying less oxygen to her body and her baby.

Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are among the leading causes of maternal deaths globally, with an estimated 76,000 women and 500,000 babies dying annually from the conditions. On the other hand, about 37% of pregnant women globally are affected by maternal anaemia, with sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia bearing the brunt.

 Pre-eclampsia increases the risk of preterm birth, low birth weight and stillbirth, while severe anaemia can increase the risk of pre-eclampsia and postpartum haemorrhage.

“Women who have lived through these conditions understand the barriers, whether it is the cost, distance, stigma, or trust, better than anyone. We are asking to help shape the solutions from the start,” Ruth Wangari, a pre-eclampsia survivor and member of the Kenya Community Advisory Board for the Supreme Project, said.

The coalition said that gaps remain in the prevention, detection and management of maternal anaemia, with limited diagnostic testing available to identify underlying causes and few women completing recommended iron courses.

Furthermore, the organisations say that some health facilities have limited access to reliable blood pressure machines, while community health workers lack portable diagnostic tools,  factors that have significantly contributed to late detection of pre-eclampsia.

In Kenya, regions such as Northern Kenya and the Coastal regions bear the highest burden of maternal health conditions, with inadequate infrastructure, such as roads and hospitals, further exacerbating the situation.

The SUPREME project is working jointly with community members, civil society organisations, manufacturers, governments and health workers in the five countries to ensure that the gaps identified by women and health workers are addressed through policy changes and improved access to tools and care.

The meeting in Nairobi marked the launch of a community and civil society engagement component of SUPREME, which aims to ensure that Community Advisory Boards give women and communities a role in shaping how maternal health products are introduced and scaled.