Management Sciences for Health Launches New Activities to Improve Women’s and Children’s Health

Arlington, VA—October 30, 2024—Management Sciences for Health (MSH) announced today the launch of three new projects to support countries as they protect women’s and children’s health. The initiatives include the prevention of cervical cancer through expanded human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations in Nigeria; budgeting and planning for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) innovations in Ethiopia; and helping countries have the medicines and supplies they need to prevent and treat postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). 

Evidence-based advocacy for expanded HPV vaccination in Nigeria 

HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer worldwide. In 2023, Nigeria introduced the HPV vaccine, which prevents more than 90% of cervical cancers. As of June 2024, 70% of the target population—girls aged 9 to 14—had been vaccinated, but challenges remain to scale up the vaccine as part of routine immunization in primary health care facilities. 

MSH will work with local research and advocacy organizations and with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the State Primary Health Care Development Agencies, and state Ministries of Health to generate evidence, including a costing and financial assessment, to inform policy and programmatic recommendations for sustained delivery of the HPV vaccine in the states of Kano, Kaduna, and Lagos.

“We look forward to supporting this important effort to reduce unnecessary and preventable deaths due to cervical cancer in Nigeria,” said Rebecca Levine, MSH’s Technical Director and Cluster Area Lead for Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health. “In addition to preventing HPV infections through vaccination, findings from this work—particularly with regards to coordination among federal, state, and local levels—could improve other routine immunization efforts.” 

Innovations for RMNCH in Ethiopia 

Many promising health innovations in Ethiopia fail to scale up for various reasons. Often, there is a lack of evidence on their true costs (and resource needs), cost-effectiveness, and budgetary implications of potential implementation scenarios. This evidence gap makes it challenging for the government to know which innovations it should invest in and how to implement them sustainably. 

To address this gap, MSH—in partnership with Breakthrough International Consultancy and an array of local entities and health authorities—will develop an approach for prioritizing and costing RMNCH innovations in Ethiopia and develop a scale-up plan for their implementation. The activity will identify the additional human, institutional, and financial resources required to support the expansion process and to sustain operations at scale.  

“We’re thrilled for the opportunity to support policymakers in Ethiopia in maximizing resource use and prioritizing innovations that will bring substantial health benefits to women and children within the available budget and health system capacity,” said Daniel Erku, MSH’s Senior Technical Advisor for Health Economics and Financing. “This evidence can also support budget advocacy efforts for increased funding from both the government and key partners, including donors, by demonstrating the value and investment case for these innovations.”  

More tools to treat PPH worldwide 

PPH is a leading cause of maternal death worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently updated its guidelines for managing PPH to include three new products: a heat stable medicine that prevents PPH and is an important alternative in settings where cold chain is not available or is unreliable, an adjunct treatment for when prevention measures fail to control the bleeding, and calibrated drapes to accurately determine if the level of blood loss during and after delivery qualifies as PPH and requires lifesaving medicines to be administered. 

As countries introduce these products into their health systems, they need to accurately estimate how much to purchase. 

Under this new initiative, MSH will update the current RMNCH forecasting supplement with the new products and recommendations from WHO. This will include algorithms, spreadsheets, and guidance documents in English and French. 

These updates will give program managers, supply chain technical experts, and service providers the tools they need to estimate how much product is needed over a given time frame. 

“By including these three items in its guidance for the prevention and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage, WHO took a hugely important step in saving the lives of women and keeping mothers alive to see their babies grow,” said Jane Briggs, a Senior Principal Technical Advisor with MSH. “We’re eager to do our part to ensure that those products are always available when and where they are needed.” 

Learn more about MSH’s RMNCH work here and health care financing here.