Merck to Give $500-Million to Boost Maternal Health

Merck, the pharmaceutical giant, announced last month that it will spend $500-million over the next decade to reduce the number of women who die during pregnancy and childbirth. The announcement was one of several high-profile pledges made at the United Nations General Assembly and Clinton Global Initiative meetings, held here every September.

Geralyn Ritter, president of the Merck Company Foundation, told The Chronicle that some of that money would be in the form of cash grants to charities. The company will also explore ways to develop new technology that could cut down on maternal mortality, such as a way to store a drug that helps prevent women from bleeding to death after childbirth.

In addition, the pledge will help spread existing technologies, train health-care workers, and support advocacy work, said Ms. Ritter.

Clinton Meeting Roundup

Jobs, women, and the environment, were among the key topics discussed at ormer President Bill Clinton’s annual philanthropy event. At one session, Luis Ubiñas, president of the Ford Foundation, shared the stage with California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Carlos Slim, the Mexican telecommunications billionaire, for a discussion on how to spur job creation in “megacities.”

To attend Mr. Clinton’s gathering, donors and nonprofits must make a “commitment” to effect change on a specific issue. Other commitments included:

• A new partnership among the Ford, Nike, and Novo Foundation and other donors, to reduce the number of children who are forced into marriage before the age of 18. The Elders, a group of world leaders dedicated to improving human rights, is leading the effort, which hopes to raise $3-million. About half that amount has been raised thus far.
• A $25-million pledge to the nonprofit group PATH, with the goal of improving women’s and children’s health. The money comes from BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities, the nonprofit arm of BHP Billiton, an Australian gas and mining company.
• A new three-year effort by the Western Union Foundation to boost job creation in sub-Saharan Africa. The grant maker will contribute $1.5-million in the first year and provide management assistance, business training, and other aid to small and mid-sized businesses in the region.