Sustainability

MSD publishes Purpose for Progress Impact Report 2024/2025

August 18, 2025

Our company’s purpose is to use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. This purpose serves as our compass and guides us every day. Our Purpose for Progress: MSD 2024/2025 Impact Report provides a comprehensive view of how we’re pursuing innovative science for the health of people and animals and ensuring our efforts drive significant and sustainable value.

“Our long-standing commitment and focus on advancing access to health, operating responsibly and implementing strategies that protect the health of people, animals and the planet is unwavering,” said Rob Davis, chairman and CEO. “As we continue to navigate the rapid pace of change happening all around us, I am proud of the progress we’ve made thus far, and I remain optimistic about our future.”

A few highlights from this year’s report*

>247M

People enabled access to our innovative medicines and vaccines through access solutions.

>66M

People reached with our social investments in low- and middle-income countries and in underserved populations in high-income countries. We've surpassed the goal of reaching 50 million by 2025.

92%

Countries reached globally with our products, surpassing our goal for the fourth year in a row.

*All numbers as of 2024 (report page 15)

Our employees worldwide played a pivotal role in delivering novel solutions that addressed some of the world’s most serious and complex global health challenges. We’re proud that in 2024, our medicines and vaccines reached more than 450 million people around the world.

Our sustainability strategy has four main areas of focus

Access to health: In collaboration with global health stakeholders, our social investments aim to advance access to quality health systems, and we seek to ensure that our products are accessible and affordable worldwide.
Employees: We recognize that our ability to excel depends on the integrity, knowledge, imagination, skill, diversity of thought, perspectives and experiences, and well-being of our employees.
Environmental sustainability: We strive to operate our business sustainably, considering the impact on both the health of our planet and its inhabitants, while also providing opportunities for product innovation and reduction in costs and risks. We have a long history of environmental stewardship and compliance, and we continuously evolve our strategy and efforts in the face of a changing climate.
Ethics and values: Our ethics and values are at the center of everything we do. Through our unwavering commitment to transparency, we are committed to earning the trust and confidence of our stakeholders.

Learn more about our progress in these areas and read this year’s report.

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Sustainability

We’re ‘seeing green’ and building a more sustainable business

Our award-winning ‘See Green, Be Green’ sustainability initiative exemplifies our company's and employees' commitment to operating responsibly

August 7, 2025

Across our six sites in Ireland, we’re taking the Emerald Isle ethos to heart with a call to “See Green, Be Green.”

See Green, Be Green is an employee-led initiative that aims to reduce our company’s environmental impact by embedding a sustainability mindset at every level of our operations. The program started in Ireland and has taken root across the organization, inspiring innovation, enhancing efficiency and driving progress toward our company’s climate goals.

“We decided to collectively develop, implement and maintain this program, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because of our shared belief that sustainability-focused business is smart business. What we do — and how we do it — truly matters.”

Mark O’Connor
Associate director of engineering in our energy and environmental sustainability center of excellence

Built around four focus areas — carbon transition, waste and water management, biodiversity and culture — See Green, Be Green is a framework that guides the sites’ sustainability efforts, from installing EV chargers and solar panels to planting pollinator gardens and native trees.

Colleagues from each of our Ireland locations — Ballydine, Brinny, Carlow, Biotech Dublin, Dunboyne, and Red Oak North — form a core team that identifies shared priorities and guides projects. The country leadership team, composed of plant managers, actively sponsors this initiative and provides strategic oversight. Cross-functional teams facilitate knowledge sharing among the sites to foster innovation and drive progress countrywide.

Members of the See Green, Be Green core team in Carlow

“As individuals, you can definitely make a difference,” said James Maher, engineering specialist and See Green, Be Green lead in Carlow. “But when you come together as a group, the change can be massive.”

Since the program’s launch, the sites have made significant strides in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, waste and water usage, earning numerous accolades along the way, including the top honor from the Irish business community’s Green Awards, which recognizes companies excelling in environmental innovation and leadership.

Our sustainability efforts in action

Carbon transition

Reducing carbon emissions is critical to our company’s goal of achieving net zero by 2045. All of our Ireland sites have been certified in ISO 50001, an internationally recognized standard for managing energy, and in 2024 sourced 56% renewable energy through virtual power purchase agreements, making progress toward our company’s target to source 100% of our purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

Other initiatives include installing solar panels, using electric company vehicles and transitioning from gas to electric boilers.

A 15-acre, 7.3-MW solar farm in Ballydine can generate the equivalent of powering more than 5,000 households with electricity; meeting pods in Dunboyne are outfitted with 160W 12V solar panels that supply power to the internal LED lights and USB charging points.

Waste and water management

The Ireland sites send zero waste to landfill — key to our company-wide goal for at least 50% of sites to do so by 2025 — and are now working on improving other means of disposal, such as recycling rather than incinerating when possible, and donating items to organizations in need.

Other efforts include installing water fountains to replace single-use water bottles, harvesting rainwater and providing reusable coffee cups in company cafes.

Office furniture from our Carlow site gets a new life at a community center; a new and improved waste segregation system was unveiled in Brinny during Sustainability Week 2024.

Biodiversity

All sites have been accredited with All-Ireland Pollinator Plan Business certifications. Initiatives include planting pollinator-friendly and native species of plants, trees and bulbs, installing bug hotels and adopting “No-Mow May” to aid clover growth.

A bug hotel at Biotech Dublin and wildflower planters at Red Oak North help attract pollinators.

Culture

Arguably the most important part of See Green, Be Green is creating a culture in which everyone is empowered to take action. From educational campaigns and outreach events to grow-your-own food and energy-reduction challenges, employees are encouraged to embrace sustainability at work, at home and in their communities.

“We want everyone to get involved so that we can make informed decisions about our habits and how it impacts our environment,” said O’Connor.

Carlow colleagues plant native trees as part of a joint reforestation initiative in Ireland and Africa; Red Oak North colleagues help clean up Sandymount Strand in Dublin.

While the sites continue to challenge themselves to do more and do better, the initiative’s impact is already palpable.

“It’s the mindset changes, it’s the momentum, it’s getting things done,” said Maher. “It’s the fact that our company really cares and that we’re taking real action.”

Environmental sustainability

Beyond Ireland, the color green is a call to action that resonates deeply with our shared values. Together, we’re sowing the seeds for a brighter, healthier future for our communities and our planet.

Learn more

Sustainability

In memory of President Jimmy Carter, 1924–2024

Honoring a life and legacy of profound impact for global health

December 29, 2024

Former President Jimmy Carter exemplified a life of service, first through his governorship and presidency, and later through the Carter Center and its commitment to improving the health and well-being of those most in need. We are privileged to have worked side-by-side with President Carter and the Carter Center on its ongoing work to eliminate river blindness in countries throughout Africa and Latin America.

Over decades of our partnership through the Mectizan® Donation Program, the Carter Center has distributed more than 500 million treatments in our shared efforts to donate Mectizan — as much as needed, for as long as needed.

While President Carter did not want to take credit for the program, all of us at MSD know it was his leadership and commitment to global health that made this a reality.

We share in the grief of all those whose lives have been touched by President Carter. They are a living testament to his compassion, selflessness and generosity.

President Carter’s memory will guide and inspire us as we continue our work for patients and communities.

May he rest in the peace he wished for the world.

Pictured above: Jimmy Carter and retired MSD CEO Dr. Roy Vagelos meet with people affected by river blindness, 1994.

Sustainability

How we’re addressing health literacy

Many people struggle to understand health information, which can impact health outcomes. What we're doing to support health literacy.

December 20, 2024

Senior couple reviewing medical information with a health care provider

What is health literacy?

At points in our lives, we need to make health or medical decisions for ourselves, members of our family or those in our care. And sometimes it can be challenging. Whether it’s deciding to receive a vaccine, start a new medication, undergo a procedure or join a clinical trial, our level of health literacy — the ability to find, understand and use information and services — can play an important role in health outcomes. Unfortunately, when people struggle, there may be negative health consequences, like decreased adherence to treatment plans, increased emergency room visits and hospital stays, and higher mortality rates.

Low health literacy is more common in vulnerable populations

While limited health literacy can affect anyone, there are certain populations at greater risk: older adults, racial and ethnic minorities, those with low income or less education, and people with compromised health status.

“As a company committed to helping save and improve lives, it’s our responsibility to communicate in a way that people can understand so that they can make informed health decisions,” said Shehla Hussain, director, medical writing safety services.

Health literacy is important for health equity

People with better health literacy are more likely to proactively engage in disease preventive behaviors and make informed decisions about their well-being. On the other hand, people with lower or limited health literacy may struggle to understand relevant information, leading to an increased risk of poor health outcomes.

How we’re making medical information easier to understand

We’re committed to making sure the information we share with the world is very clear. It’s something we’ve focused on since 2011, long before the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services updated the definition of health literacy in 2020 to acknowledge that organizations have a responsibility to enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.

As part of our efforts, we created a plain language glossary and established company-wide standards focused on improving the health literacy of the information in our resources and materials. It starts in product development and continues through the life cycle of the product, including clinical trials, labeling, post-approval, marketing and promotional materials. For example, we’re:

Creating easy-to-read patient labels.
Improving packaging and instructions for use.
Developing easy-to-understand disease educational materials.
Improving health literacy within clinical trials.
Expanding our plain language glossary of medical/scientific terms
Supporting research on health literacy.
Utilizing plain language and graphics in digital and online resources.
Sharing best practices externally.

We also listen to the people who use or may use our products to help guide our efforts.

“We work to build trust by listening to the communities we serve, understanding their needs and making our information clear, concise and understandable.”

– English D. Willis

Executive director, clinical safety and risk management, and executive sponsor, Health Literacy Community of Practice

Reducing health disparities around clinical trials

Within our clinical trials, we strive to reduce health care disparities by increasing diverse representation in our clinical trials.

“Health literacy is critically important for achieving clinical trial diversity as it ensures that individuals from diverse backgrounds can understand trial information, make informed decisions and effectively participate. Improving health literacy is essential for equitable access and participation, fostering greater inclusivity in research, leading to more representative and impactful outcomes” said Luther Clark, executive director, medical affairs, patient innovation and engagement.

Euvon Jones, a clinical trial participant, said: “Knowledge is power, and during my journey with prostate cancer, I realized the importance of fully understanding my diagnosis and the options available to me. Through conversations with my doctor and loved ones, and seeking information from reliable sources, I felt empowered to make informed decisions. When we fully understand the importance of the health information we receive, we’re better equipped to navigate the health care system, communicate with providers and advocate for the best possible care.”

Look at some examples of our work

Defining complex medical terms in plain language

By defining common terms used by health care providers, patients feel more prepared and confident to engage in discussions with their care teams.

Easy to navigate website

Understanding the patient's perspective allowed us to create a website that anticipates their needs for easy navigation. Plainer language, effective visuals and simple layouts make the website a useful tool.

Seeing from the patient perspective

In a diabetes awareness brochure, we presented the view from the patient's perspective so they can see the potential effects of eye damage from diabetes.

“And our work isn’t done. While we continue to learn and engage with communities, we’re also learning better ways to communicate with our consumers, patients and the general public.”

– English D. Willis

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Sustainability

MSD publishes 2023/2024 Impact Report

Letter from our chairman and chief executive officer, Rob Davis

August 16, 2024

Dear Stakeholders,

For more than a century, we’ve been devoted to innovative scientific discovery, delivering medicines and vaccines to address critical health needs, optimizing the efficiency of our supply chain, increasing diversity in clinical trials, evolving our MSD Manual for medical reference and so much more. Importantly, everything we do is inspired by our purpose — to save and improve the lives of people and animals around the world. By harnessing leading-edge science, we’ve tackled some of the world’s biggest health challenges for generations, and we remain committed to expanding access to life-changing medicines, vaccines and technologies for many more decades to come. Operating our business responsibly and sustainably is at the core of our values and foundational to our ways of working and business operations.

To help propel our purpose, we continue to prioritize our ambitious sustainability goals, which span four key focus areas: 1) Access to Health; 2) Employees; 3) Environmental Sustainability and 4) Ethics & Values.

Over the last year, our concerted focus on innovation, collaboration and delivering significant and sustained stakeholder value has driven remarkable progress and impactful outcomes. To these ends, I’m proud to share the following key accomplishments:

Expanding and enabling access to health

Enabling access to health underpins every action we take and every decision we make. Across our enterprise, we collaborate with global partners and stakeholders to advance our scientific discoveries, expand and enable access to our medicines and vaccines, and implement initiatives that drive health equity. In 2023, we reached more than 550 million people with our medicines and vaccines through commercial channels, clinical trials, voluntary licensing and product donations. These critical efforts include our MECTIZAN® Donation Program, the longest-running disease-specific drug donation effort of its kind, which aims to combat river blindness and lymphatic filariasis and reached approximately 385 million people last year.

In 2023, we also expanded on our 2021 access to health ambition, and now have a new goal to enable 350 million more people to access our medicines and vaccines by 2025. In 2023 alone, our efforts enabled access for 240 million people. Our products were delivered to nearly 80% of countries globally. And through our social investments, including partnerships to advance access to health and other impact initiatives, we reached more than 54 million people in low- and middle-income countries and populations underserved by health care in high-income countries, surpassing our goal of reaching more than 50 million people by 2025.

Developing and rewarding an inclusive and healthy workforce

We believe the best path to value creation is through our talent, and the variety of backgrounds and ideas they bring are central to the success of our company. Diversity and inclusion is a business imperative. It improves our understanding of our customers, promotes inclusion in our clinical trials and inspires the innovation that drives our business. We remain committed to actively cultivating a talented and inclusive workforce that best represents—and can thus best serve—our customers, health care providers and patients.

In 2023, we defined and introduced 15 new enterprise leadership skills, designed to further advance our culture, power organizational and individual performance, and drive value for our stakeholders and communities.

Embodying and prioritizing environmental stewardship

We know the global health of people and animals is inextricably linked to the health of the planet. This is why we are committed to playing an active role in mitigating the impacts of climate change. Notably, in 2024, we committed to be net-zero across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, aligned with guidance from the Science Based Targets initiative.

Our environmental sustainability strategy is designed to achieve our objectives by focusing on three critical areas: operational efficiency, designing new products to minimize environmental impact and reducing the impacts in our upstream and downstream value chain. And we have been recognized with six consecutive Green Chemistry Challenge Awards—nine overall—as a result of our ongoing efforts to minimize the footprint of our products. The awards are sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency and the American Chemistry Society and recognize new and innovative environmentally conscious chemistry technologies.

Holding ourselves to the highest standards

We operate responsibly every day in every way, and we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards of ethics and values. Our code of conduct is our compass, ensuring we maintain our reputation as a trusted, credible and responsible company. It also encourages employees to speak up and report potential concerns to ensure our ethics and values are reflected in our business operations. We maintain full compliance with all privacy and data regulatory requirements related to active incident monitoring, risk/harm analysis and on-time notification of data breaches.

We are also a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), and we align our operations with the Ten Principles of the UNGC to improve communities around the globe.

Additionally, we increased our spend with small and diverse Tier 1 and 2 suppliers from $3.2 billion in 2022 to $3.6 billion in 2023, fostering a healthy, equitable and diverse supply chain.

In 2023, we also added sustainability metrics to our Company Scorecard, which directly correlates to our annual incentive plan. The metrics link the compensation for most employees, including executives, to our performance in driving greater access to health care and employee engagement and inclusion. And I’m pleased to report that, in our inaugural year, we achieved all of our goals for these new sustainability metrics on our Company Scorecard.

Sustaining our momentum

I am very proud of our collective progress and the positive impact we’ve made on the lives of people, animals and communities around the world. In 2023, MSD was named one of the Top 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies by Barron’s and one of America’s Most JUST Companies by JUST Capital and CNBC. And notably, we ranked No. 1 in the health sector for both recognitions. This year, we were also recognized on TIME’s inaugural list of the World’s Most Sustainable Companies, ranking No. 28 out of 500 companies. These honors are a testament to our unwavering passion and commitment to saving and improving lives globally.

I remain confident that we can do even more to further advance global health and access, drive diversity and inclusivity, protect the environment and operate responsibly. I’m excited and energized by the possibilities of our science-led strategy, the promise that our short- and long-term efforts present, and the positive, sustainable impacts that we can make today and well into the future.

My sincerest thanks for your continued support as we pursue a healthier and brighter future for all.

Very best regards,

Rob Davis

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

Want to learn more?

Download our 2023/2024 Impact Report
Download our 2023/2024 Impact Report Summary

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Sustainability

MSD for Mothers: Expanding access to quality maternal care

More than a decade of strategic partnerships, private sector innovation and data-driven impact to help create a world where no woman has to die while giving life

May 7, 2024

woman smiling and holding a smiling infant

According to the latest data from the World Health Organization, a maternal death occurs almost every two minutes. Nearly 95% of all maternal deaths occur in low- and lower-middle income countries, and most could have been prevented.

If we don’t do more, mothers, daughters and granddaughters will continue to lose their lives. And their loss will impact many.

The birth of MSD for Mothers

In response to this crisis, our company created MSD for Mothers, a $650 million global initiative to help create a world where no woman has to die while giving life.

“By helping address one of the oldest and most preventable global health tragedies, we believe MSD for Mothers will have an important impact on society,” said Ken Frazier, MSD’s then-chairman and CEO, as he introduced this program at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2011.

MSD for Mothers began its mission by joining the UN and collaborators around the globe to apply its scientific and business expertise to help save women’s lives, aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 3.1 to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 births by 2030. Achieving this goal would save the lives of approximately 1.4 million women between 2016 and 2030.

A sustainable model to make a difference for generations

Focused on advancing high-quality maternity care, harnessing innovations for maternal health and catalyzing solutions that respond to local needs, MSD for Mothers aims to make a difference for women and their communities now and in the future.

A man holding a picture of a loved one in a church

Women around the world die during pregnancy and childbirth for a variety of reasons, including a lack of medical supplies or inadequate health care services to address complications. Other times, it’s due to delays in seeking care or difficulties getting to a medical facility. Sometimes, women can’t afford to pay for health services. And often, women do not have information about or access to contraceptives to help them make their own decisions about whether or not to become pregnant.

MSD for Mothers takes a holistic approach to addressing the many factors that impact maternal health. It collaborates across sectors — working with governments, nongovernmental organizations, patient groups, professional associations, entrepreneurs, UN agencies, research institutions, businesses and even other pharmaceutical companies. The initiative also supports innovations across digital, finance, products and policy, and strives to leverage the private sector for public good. Engaging local stakeholders in designing, implementing and evaluating solutions plays an important role in creating sustainable improvements.

"We believe investing in maternal health care is a pathway to better health for all."

Jacquelyn Caglia

Director of learning, communications and U.S. programs, MSD for Mothers

“Working closely with our collaborators, we’re taking a holisitic approach to address inequities that impact maternal health, reflecting our company’s commitment to expanding access to health around the world,” said Jacquelyn Caglia, director of learning, communications and U.S. programs, MSD for Mothers. “The impact we’ve made reflects our team’s dedication and the incredible efforts of community-based organizations globally. There’s still much to be done, which is why we’re focused on building on our learnings and scaling our impact.”

Making an impact and the ripple effect

MSD for mothers has worked alongside more than 165 grantees and collaborators in more than 70 countries to find, test, scale and sustain solutions to reduce maternal mortality.

“Our programs directly reach women and health systems. Since 2011, we’ve reached more than 30 million women globally, helping them have healthier pregnancies and safer childbirths through programs promoting high-quality and respectful care — surpassing our goal of reaching 25 million women by 2025,” said Mark Allen, director of global programs & strategic partnerships, MSD for Mothers.

160M+

people reached through improved access to quality facilities

30M+

women with access to programs supporting safe, high quality, respectful care

397,000

providers with improved training

And, research shows that investing in maternal health can have a ripple effect. Better maternal health care is a pathway to a lifetime of benefits, both for a woman’s own health and prosperity as well as that of her children, family, community and nation.

Infants are 15 times more likely to survive

Children are 10 times more likely to finish school

Millions of dollars are contributed by women to the economy

“When we invest in maternal health, we ensure that hundreds of thousands of women survive pregnancy and childbirth. When that happens, newborns are more likely to survive, children are more likely to stay in school, women are able to make invaluable contributions to their communities and the workforce, health systems are stronger and nations’ economies grow,” explains Allen. “We call this the ‘Mom Effect.'”

And, that’s an important impact on society for generations to come.

History of MSD Mothers:

Timeline:

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2011

Ken Frazier announces launch of MSD for Mothers

MSD for Mothers and PATH collaborate to identify game-changing technologies

Spearheaded by top scientists from MSD for Mothers and the global nonprofit, PATH, this unique alliance evaluated promising technologies that address the two leading causes of maternal mortality — post-partum hemorrhage (PPH) and preeclampsia — as well as family planning. This collaboration surfaced the ideas of focusing on a heat-stable uterotonic (carbetocin) to address excessive bleeding during childbirth and optimizing magnesium sulfate administration for pregnant women with preeclampsia – two initiatives that we continue to fund today.

2012

MSD for Mothers joins new global partnership — Saving Mothers, Giving Life

This public-private partnership focuses on helping mothers during labor, delivery and the first 24 hours following birth, when an estimated two-thirds of maternal deaths and almost half of infant deaths occur. With a pledge of more than $200 million, the partnership began with programs in Uganda and Zambia, where maternal mortality rates are disproportionately high.

Pregnant woman in India and a child in the background

2013

MSD for Mothers launches $10 million initiative in India

This initiative to improve access to maternal health services will reach nearly 500,000 pregnant women in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand — all areas with high rates of maternal deaths.

pregnant woman being examined by a nurse

Global health, development and business leaders announce new innovative financing partnership

This partnership leverages private sector funding to speed up delivery and access to life-saving health supplies, such as contraceptives, bed nets, and medicines to those in need. Through Pledge Guarantee for Health (PGH), this new financing mechanism helps increase the impact of each dollar of donor funding and ultimately improve health care access and outcomes for the millions who are helped by foreign aid.

Through the partnership, MSD and other private sector suppliers step up to provide up-front price discounts to aid recipients who utilize PGH to purchase their life-saving health supplies.

MSD for Mothers launches programs in the U.S.

The maternal mortality rate in the U.S. has nearly doubled since 1990. More than 50,000 women a year — one every 10 minutes — nearly die from severe complications they experience during pregnancy or childbirth. With an initial commitment of $6 million, these programs aim to enhance community care initiatives for high-risk women before, during and after childbirth; implement standard approaches to address obstetric emergencies; and strengthen data collection and reviews to better understand why maternal deaths occur and how to improve practices and patient care.

3 women holding babies and one pregnant woman in Kenya

2014

MSD, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and WHO announce collaboration to prevent excessive bleeding in women after childbirth

MSD, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and WHO collaborate to advance a new, proprietary formulation of carbetocin to prevent excessive bleeding in women after childbirth. A primary benefit of carbetocin is its ability to remain stable at room temperature, even in hot and tropical climates, unlike oxytocin, the standard medicine administered for the prevention of PPH. Oxytocin is temperature-sensitive and requires sustained cold distribution and storage, which is difficult to achieve in many of these areas of high maternal mortality.

Mother holds child on her lap while holding up a cell phone with a text message on it and a test in the other hand

2015

MSD for Mothers explores digital technologies to mobilize maternal health

MSD for Mothers commits resources to invent or enhance existing solutions to tackle some of the most critical obstacles standing in the way of delivering quality maternity care and contraceptive services in low- and middle-income countries. This commitment leads to a new wave of smart, innovative apps and digital platforms – like the Safe Delivery App, mDoc, Project iDeliver, AskNivi, MomCare, Together for Her Health, among others.

MSD and MSD for Mothers help advance a new set of UN global goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are formally adopted at the 70th UNGA. They represent the international community’s aspirations for improving the lives of the world’s poorest people by 2030.

MSD for Mothers has now reached 5 million women worldwide through its programs

2016

Employees across the globe join the fight to end maternal mortality

Employee volunteers participate in activities such as assembling post-natal kits for soon-to-be mothers in Uganda as a means of encouraging them to seek care to support healthy pregnancies and deliveries. The kits include essential supplies to aid the health and safety of a mother and newborn after birth. This activity, among others, become annual events where employees can help amplify our impact.

MSD for Mothers’ collaborators complete their first maternity waiting home in Zambia

Maternity waiting homes — residences located near health facilities where pregnant women can stay before they go into labor — can make all the difference for pregnant women in rural Zambia, where the distance between home and a health facility can be a matter of life and death.

2017

MSD for Mothers teams up with stakeholders across India to launch Manyata

MSD for Mothers, Jhpiego India and the Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India partnered to launch Manyata – an ambitious agenda to improve quality of maternity and newborn care services in private facilities by training doctors, nursing and administrative staff on essential clinical, facility and patient care protocols in India.

a nurse helping patients fill out paper work

MSD for Mothers commits $10 million and business expertise to the Global Financing Facility

In support of the UN Secretary-General’s Every Woman Every Child strategy to improve maternal and child health in low- and lower-middle-income countries, the goal is to prevent an estimated 3.8 million maternal deaths, 101 million child deaths and 21 million stillbirths by 2030. MSD is the first private sector investor and helped bring other private sector investors to the table.

MSD for Mothers launches the world’s first maternal and newborn health development bond with public and private sector collaborators

The Utkrisht Development Impact Bond leverages private investor capital to incentivize private maternity providers in Rajasthan, India to improve the quality of care they deliver. Interventions will reach up to 600,000 pregnant women with improved care during delivery and could lead up to 10,000 lives being saved over a five-year period.

Female doctor on her rounds at hospital in India

2018

Ferring Pharmaceuticals and MSD announce completion of carbetocin clinical trial, the largest clinical trial ever conducted in postpartum hemorrhage

The trial of heat-stable carbetocin showed it to be as safe and effective as oxytocin in preventing postpartum hemorrhage, the largest direct cause of maternal death. The trial included nearly 30,000 women from 10 countries.

“This has the potential to change the paradigm in how we save more mothers from dying during childbirth,” said Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, MSD’s then-chief patient officer.

MSD announces new U.S. initiative — Safer Childbirth Cities

Through this initiative, MSD for Mothers will provide grants to help cities with poor maternal health outcomes develop and implement creative, multi-sector solutions to save women’s lives and improve maternal health.

Woman kissing her child in home in Romania

MSD for Mothers publishes first research compendium to advance collective understanding of maternal mortality

The research compendium, Evidence for Impact, collates actionable and real-time evidence about what works and what doesn’t to expand knowledge that will help encourage greater investment in women’s health. MSD for Mothers publishes a second compendium in 2020.

Mother holding baby alongside two other young children - in Romania

2019

MSD for Mothers has now reached 10 million women worldwide through its programs

The MOMs (Maternal Outcomes Matters) Initiative launched

A partnership between MSD for Mothers, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Credit Suisse and USAID to stimulate, advance and scale innovations that contribute to a healthy pregnancy and safe childbirth. It will invest $50M in local businesses that are working to improve maternal health in regions of the world where high rates of women are dying from pregnancy and childbirth. (Photo credit: LifeBank)

Pregnant belly next to the words "Hear her concerns" for the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Reproductive Health

2020

MSD for Mothers provides funding to help support the CDC’s new maternal health communication campaign, Hear Her

Hear Her brings attention to maternal mortality and provides support to pregnant and postpartum women to speak up when something doesn’t feel right.

Woman nurse taking a pregnant woman's blood pressure

MSD commits $3M to address maternal health needs during COVID-19 pandemic

2021

MSD announces fifth round of global grants to tackle maternal mortality and access to health worldwide

MSD for Mothers supports the corporate grant program which enables MSD offices around the world to aid nongovernmental organizations that are improving maternal health. The program responds to local women’s needs, focusing on how resources can increase health equity in maternity care and support.

MSD announces additional $150M investment through 2025 to help end maternal mortality inequities, building on the $500M commitment made in 2011

This investment comes at a pivotal time for the global health community as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to stretch health systems, disrupting networks of care that support healthy pregnancies and safe childbirth.

Pregnant woman and her mother in hospital in India

2022

MSD for Mothers launches Strengthening Systems for Safer Childbirth Coalitions

This global initiative is supporting locally driven solutions with coalitions across India, Kenya, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The coalitions lead activities to improve access to high-quality maternal health care.

Learn more

2023

MSD for Mothers debuts new report examining how transformational impact can be made in maternal health

The report highlights six social investments whose solutions have demonstrated transformational impact on maternal health in different contexts — each with funding from MSD for Mothers. Learn more about the report.

MSD for Mothers supports organizations in Latin America

With a sixth round of global grants, MSD for Mothers supports organizations in Latin America, where wide disparities in maternal health outcomes persist. Through the grants, we aim to reach 135,000 women throughout Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Mexico.

Learn more

2024

MSD for Mothers has reached more than 30 million women around the world

Through programs promoting safe, high-quality, respectful care, MSD for Mothers has now reached more than 30 million women, surpassing its goal of reaching 25 million women by 2025. Learn more

New grants help women in southeastern Europe

Latest round of global grants supports UNICEF through innovative projects designed to meet the unique local needs of women in Bulgaria and Serbia. Learn more

We believe solutions to end maternal mortality and improve the quality of maternity care should be rooted in women’s voices and experiences

Strategic partnerships, private sector innovation and data-driven impact

Our work continues in order to help create a world where no woman has to die while giving life

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Sustainability

Inspiring innovation through diversity and inclusion

We recognize the importance of embedding a culture of inclusion and belonging at every level of our company

February 1, 2024

Inspiring diverse colleagues collaborate over innovative strategy through diversity and inclusion

An inclusive workplace inspires innovation and is fundamental to our company’s success. Having an environment composed of people with different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences also helps us better understand the unique needs of the customers, health care providers and patients we serve.

“With inclusion as a foundation, we’re able to ignite the spark of creativity that leads to innovation and extraordinary outcomes.”

Nicole Stovall
Vice president, Global Diversity and Inclusion Center of Excellence

Below are some of the ways we celebrate our culture of empowerment, engagement and belonging:

01.

Supporting a disability-inclusive workforce

At our company, everyone should feel empowered to help deliver on our purpose of using the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. This includes our colleagues who live with disabilities.

Our Global Disability Inclusion Strategy Council recognizes and values the importance of a disability-inclusive workforce and offers resources to ensure people with disabilities — including physical, neurological, mental, rare or any other forms of disabilities — are included and prepared to succeed in all areas of our business.

Key programs and partnerships include:

capAbility in Action, a joint program launched with Accenture and run in partnership with workforce solutions company Rangam to attract, recruit and retain neurodivergent talent.
Valuable 500, a global partnership of 500 companies committed to accelerating disability inclusion through best practices such as digitally accessible technology, mental health awareness and more.

02.

Economic inclusion and small business development

Economic inclusion creates a competitive advantage for our company and positively impacts the global community.

We create economic opportunities by procuring products and services from an array of small businesses ranging in locations, ownership and specialties.

03.

Celebrating global diversity and inclusion

Since 2015, we’ve celebrated Global Diversity & Inclusion Experience Month in September to foster meaningful discussions and learning around diversity and inclusion, while highlighting our inclusive culture.

This monthlong celebration builds capabilities among our workforce and creates a platform for employees to speak up about their experiences.

04.

Employee business resource groups (EBRGs)

With more than 25,000 members across 10 groups, our EBRGs play a critical role in driving an inclusive culture and supporting employee career growth. Each EBRG is open to all employees and they reflect the communities in which we live and serve.

Sustainability

Accelerating global access

Our company is collaborating with a range of partners to enable access for patients around the world

September 8, 2022

At the outset of our research efforts for COVID-19, our company made clear its commitment to make any vaccine or medicine we develop for this pandemic broadly accessible.

Here’s how we have been working to fulfill that commitment:

Download the infographic

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Sustainability

How we’re prioritizing supply

Learn how our teams mobilized like never before to ensure we were ready to address a global need

August 24, 2022

From the earliest stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, we knew we had a responsibility to mobilize and innovate to rise to the challenge of this unique moment.

This is what we’re doing:

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Sustainability

35 Years: The Mectizan® Donation Program

The Mectizan Donation Program is the longest-running, disease-specific drug donation program of its kind

May 25, 2022

Our commitment: “as much as needed, for as long as needed…"

For centuries, river blindness — also known as onchocerciasis — plagued remote communities in Africa, Latin America and Yemen, and there was no answer to this affliction.

This all began to change in the mid-to-late 1970s when Dr. William Campbell of MSD Research Laboratories suggested the use of ivermectin (later named Mectizan) for river blindness in humans. Following the breakthrough lab work by Dr. Campbell, another MSD researcher, Dr. Mohammed Aziz, championed the clinical development of Mectizan. Dr. Aziz led the collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) in the early 1980s to design and implement field studies in West Africa that, ultimately, proved the effectiveness of the drug against river blindness.

In 1987, MSD committed to donate Mectizan – as much as needed, for as long as needed – with the goal to help eliminate river blindness.

MDP partners include: World Health Organization, the Task Force for Global Health, ministries of health, non-governmental development organizations, academic institutions and local communities in endemic communities.

A ground-breaking public-private partnership

In order to reach this goal, MSD leaders recognized that many organizations with unique skills would need to work together as a team. To enable this collaboration, MSD established the Mectizan Donation Program (MDP), a ground-breaking public-private partnership. Operating from the Atlanta-based Task Force for Global Health, the MDP coordinates technical and operational activities between MSD, WHO, endemic countries, and a range of public and private stakeholders.

Building on the successful implementation of the river blindness program, in 1998 MSD expanded its commitment to include donating Mectizan for another neglected tropical disease, lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis, in African countries and Yemen where it co-exists with river blindness. For lymphatic filariasis, Mectizan is administered with albendazole, a drug donated by GSK.

In November 2017, in support of new WHO guidelines, MSD announced an expansion of the program to reach up to an additional 100 million people per year through 2025 as part of the global effort to eliminate lymphatic filariasis.

More than thirty years later, the results of the MDP speak for themselves. Several countries in Africa are making significant progress towards eliminating both diseases. In Latin America, four countries – Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Guatemala – have received WHO verification of river blindness elimination. Lymphatic filariasis has now been eliminated in Togo, Yemen and Malawi. Both river blindness and lymphatic filariasis are on WHO’s list of neglected tropical diseases targeted for elimination globally.

Pioneering a community-directed approach

Today, the MDP is the longest-running, disease-specific drug donation program of its kind and has been influential in the development of a number of other drug donation programs. And, the MDP’s community-directed strategy used to distribute Mectizan has enabled add-on health services to be introduced in remote communities where health services are limited. The program reaches more than 300 million people in the affected areas annually, with more than 4.4 billion treatments donated since 1987.

People in the communities are an integral part of the distribution process in 49 countries where Mectizan has been distributed.

According to Uche Amazigo, former director of the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control, “by engaging the people, the treatment coverage increased significantly.”

“This pioneering program has changed the face of global health over the past three decades,” said Yao Sodahlon, head of the MDP. “When I visit communities where Mectizan is donated, I can see how the program has helped alleviate suffering and allowed people to live better and healthier lives.”

What are river blindness and lymphatic filariasis?

a doctor checking a man for river blindness

River blindness (onchocerciasis)

River blindness is one of the leading causes of preventable blindness worldwide. Transmitted through the bite of black flies — which live and breed near fast-flowing streams and rivers — and can cause intense itching, permanent skin and eye lesions and, over time, blindness. It has historically been prevalent in remote rural areas of 36 countries (in Africa, Latin America, and in Yemen.)

Lymphatic filariasis (LF)

Also known as elephantiasis, LF results in disfiguring swelling in the limbs and genitals. Parasitic infection spread by mosquitoes and damages the human lymphatic system. More than 1.3 billion people are at risk, and 30 percent of those infected live in Africa.

35 years later, results of this program speak for themselves

More than 4.4 billion cumulative treatments

Donations to 49 countries

Through the efforts of a variety of partners, more than 4.4 billion treatments have been donated to 49 countries in Africa, Latin America, Eastern Mediterranean, Asia, and South Pacific. River blindness transmission has been interrupted – meaning no new cases have been identified – in four of the six affected countries in Latin America and regions in five African countries. The program reaches more than 300 million people annually.

Today, the MDP is the longest-running, disease-specific drug donation program of its kind.

“We are proud of the positive difference that the Mectizan Donation Program has made in the lives of so many people, their families and communities, and health care systems over the years. Together, with our alliance of partners, we will continue to support endemic countries in their commitment to eliminate these devastating diseases.”

Rob Davis, CEO and President, MSD

Explore our history of helping bring treatment to those afflicted by river blindness and elephantiasis

1978

Dr. William Campbell of MSD Research Laboratories suggests the use of Mectizan (ivermectin) against onchocerciasis (river blindness) in humans.

1981

The first human clinical trials begin in Dakar with the first patient receiving a single dose.

1987

MSD CEO Dr. Roy Vagelos announces the company’s commitment to donate Mectizan to treat river blindness — as much as needed, for as long as needed — the MDP is formed.

1988

The Mectizan Expert Committee meets for the first time to establish the strategy for distribution and the donation review process. Mectizan has been produced at the MSD plant in Haarlem, the Netherlands, since the beginning of the program.

1991

MSD, the MDP Secretariat and WHO establish the Non-Governmental Development Organization (NGDO) Coordination Group for Onchocerciasis Control. NGDOs play a critical role in Mectizan distribution through their work with ministries of health and local communities, expertise in program management, and financial support.

1993

The Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas (OEPA), formed by the River Blindness Foundation and currently sponsored by The Carter Center, brings together the ministries of health of six countries in Latin America affected by onchocerciasis.

1995

WHO, the World Bank, international NGOs, and 19 African countries partner to create the African Program for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC), providing a structure for financial support and coordination of river blindness control efforts.

1998

MSD begins a partnership with GSK to expand the MDP to include the elimination of LF, commonly referred to as elephantiasis, in African countries and in Yemen.

MSD and the MDP celebrate the 100 millionth treatment in Uganda.

1999

The iconic river blindness statue, “Sightless Among Miracles” by sculptor R. T. Wallen, is dedicated at WHO headquarters in Switzerland. Identical statues are also found at The Carter Center (Georgia, USA), the World Bank (Washington, D.C., USA), the Royal Tropical Institute (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), MSD (New Jersey, USA) and Lions Club International Foundation (Illinois, USA).

2002

In Tanzania, MSD CEO Raymond
Gilmartin celebrates the 250 millionth
treatment distributed.

2008

The Pan American Health Organization passes a resolution calling for the interruption of transmission of river blindness in the Americas by the year 2012.

WHO confirms the potential for elimination of river blindness in some parts of Africa through current treatment strategies.

2010

MSD reaffirms its commitment to the MDP. MSD “will continue to [donate Mectizan] until river blindness becomes a disease of the past,” said MSD CEO Richard T. Clark.

2011

Colombia becomes the first country to apply for WHO certification for the elimination of onchocerciasis transmission after suspending treatment with Mectizan in 2007.

2012

MSD CEO Kenneth C. Frazier commemorates the 25th anniversary of the MDP at a celebratory event in London.

2013

WHO verifies that Colombia has eliminated onchocerciasis, thus becoming the first country in the world to achieve this goal.

2014

WHO verifies the elimination of onchocerciasis in Ecuador. Ecuador worked in partnership with the MDP and a number of other organizations and now becomes the second country in the world to be free of this disease.

2015

WHO verifies the elimination of onchocerciasis in Mexico, the third country in the world to be free of river blindness.

Dr. William C. Campbell, Ph.D., is jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of avermectin, which led to a treatment for river blindness. Dr. Campbell performed his Nobel Prize-winning work at MSD Research Laboratories in Rahway, N.J., where he worked from 1957 until his retirement in 1990.

2016

WHO verifies the elimination of onchocerciasis in Guatemala thanks to a partnership with the MDP and a number of other organizations. With this milestone, four of the six countries in the Americas historically at-risk for river blindness now have verified elimination of the disease.

2017

Togo becomes the first country in Africa recognized by WHO to have eliminated LF as a public health problem.

MSD announces an expansion of the MDP to reach up to an additional 100 million people per year through 2025 as part of the global effort to eliminate LF.

2019

WHO verifies the elimination of LF as a public health problem in Yemen. The Mectizan Expert Committee meets in Togo and presents the Ministry of Health with the Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Award.

2020

WHO verifies the elimination of LF as a public health problem in Malawi.

2021

MDP and MSD announce a $500,000 donation to strengthen laboratory capacity to support onchocerciasis elimination in Africa in partnership with WHO’s Collaborating Centre for Onchocerciasis Diagnostics at the College of Public Health, University of South Florida.

2022

MSD and MDP mark the 35th anniversary of the program.

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